Written Statements

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

Monday 23 February 2026

Storm Chandra and Flooding

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)]

Storm Chandra brought heavy rain to the UK on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 January. This was the seventh named storm overall to hit the UK so far for the 2025-26 storm season starting on 1 September. Storm Chandra closely followed Storm Ingrid, which brought heavy rain to southern areas of the UK the previous week.

As of the afternoon of Sunday 22 February, the Environment Agency reports that around 401 properties have flooded across England with 373 of these in Devon and Cornwall and Wessex EA areas, with a further 28 in other parts of Hampshire, Herefordshire and Yorkshire. This is in addition to extensive farmland and some local infrastructure flooding. Approximately 24,500 properties have been protected by Environment Agency assets across all locations.

South-west impacts

The south-west of England has been particularly impacted and three severe flood warnings were issued in the initial days of the storm, indicating a risk to life. The south-west has seen nearly twice the long-term average rainfall so far this year. Records have been broken in many parts of the south-west for water levels in rivers, groundwater levels and amounts of rain falling in a day.

A major incident was declared by Somerset council on 27 January to support the co-ordinated response to flooding in the Somerset levels and moorland. This was only lifted on Wednesday 18 February, as the multi-agency efforts have stabilised the situation. The Environment Agency is following its Somerset moors and levels flood management plans, and operating flood storage areas and pumps.

Before recess, I visited Somerset with the hon. Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke). I saw at first hand the impact of the flooding, with villages cut off by submerged roads, and the strain this has placed on people’s mental health. I met a local farmer to see the impacts to his farmland, and I met the local internal drainage boards and Somerset Rivers Authority to hear their views.

Following my visit, the Environment Agency committed to reviewing the issues around water level management in Somerset once this incident has come to an end. It will work closely with the internal drainage boards and the local council as part of the wider recovery plan. That review will look at several important questions: when pumps should be activated, whether the current trigger points are right, and whether installing permanent pumps in certain locations could offer better value for money in the long term.

I want to again acknowledge the vital contributions of Somerset council, Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service, the police, ambulance services, the members of the internal drainage boards, and many others who have played essential roles in the multi-agency response.

A number of properties on the seafront at Torcross were significantly impacted during Storm Chandra and the high spring tides of 2 and 18 February, with wave overtopping causing internal flooding and other damage, although the degree of impact varies between properties and in some cases is still being assessed. The Environment Agency is working with local partners to support the community and engage with the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden).

Government action

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is a priority for this Government. That is why we set up a flood resilience taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. The taskforce will be meeting again next month to review winter preparedness and response.

The Government are investing at least £10.5 billion over ten years to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences, protecting communities from the impacts of climate change. Through the largest flood programme in history, this record investment will benefit nearly 900,000 properties.

In October, the Government announced major changes to our flood funding policy to make it quicker and easier to deliver the right flood defences in the right places. This will increase investor confidence, close funding gaps, and reduce administrative burdens on local communities. The new rules, which take effect in April 2026, will optimise funding between building new flood defences and ongoing maintenance, capturing all damages avoided, including to agriculture, and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. Projects will be prioritised by their benefit-to-cost ratios to drive value for money, and we are giving equal weighting to all the different types of benefits, such as agriculture and environmental damages.

The Government are investing £91 million to support internal drainage boards to modernise and upgrade assets, recognising their essential work to manage water levels and reduce flood risk in rural communities. This funding has provided benefits to over 400,000 hectares of farmland and over 200,000 properties to date.

Under our environmental land management schemes, we are funding actions to improve the environment and mitigate flood risk, with proactive actions in our management of the land and water. These actions help make farmland more resilient to the effects of climate change, including reducing the impact of flooding by improving soil health, creating areas of water retention that protect more productive areas and slowing the flow across the landscape. In October 2025, the “FloodReady” report identified gaps and opportunities to grow the property flood resilience market, resulting in a new action plan for all relevant parties to take forward. The FloodReady leadership group, now chaired by UK Finance, is taking forward the work with DEFRA and the Environment Agency, leading on the recommendations for Government. The chair of the leadership group is now a member of the flood resilience taskforce.

We are supporting communities to adapt to coastal change. In January, the Government announced £30 million for coastal adaptation pilots over three years. This will deliver advanced adaptation in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, including selective property purchases or long-term financing solutions in areas where homes face imminent risk from erosion. It will support adaptation in other places facing coastal erosion across England, empowering communities to take practical steps, including moving community buildings away from at-risk areas, testing early warning systems for erosion events, and improving beach access and coastal tourism infrastructure.

Ongoing risk

Since Storm Chandra passed through, the situation has remained finely balanced, with numerous Met Office severe weather warnings issued over the south-west of England and elsewhere in the four weeks since the storm. Further rainfall has exacerbated flood risk in some areas and slowed recovery. Flood warnings have been removed from some areas in the south-west, but added in others, further east and along the south coast. Record groundwater levels combined with high river levels continue to risk flooding of properties and businesses in the south-west and elsewhere in the country.

Unsettled weather is set to continue into next month, with high groundwater levels meaning the risk of further flooding remains. High tides and strong winds may also bring tidal flood risk in some places during this period. Dozens of Environment Agency flood teams will continue to work across the country to respond to flooding and protect vulnerable communities.

[HCWS1343]

Media Freedom Coalition

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Chris Elmore)]

The United Kingdom remains steadfast in its commitment to media freedom around the world, and we recognise the vital role that journalists play in upholding human rights, supporting accountable governance and protecting democracy. As Moldovan President Maia Sandu put it well,

“Peace cannot survive without information integrity, and democracies cannot survive without those who protect it.”

From Gaza to Georgia, Mexico to Myanmar, and in dozens of other countries, the UK regularly speaks up alongside our international partners to defend media freedom, and to condemn incidents where reporters, commentators, photographers, videographers and bloggers have been harassed, intimidated, detained, assaulted or killed simply for doing their jobs.

Since it was co-founded by the UK and Canada in 2019, the Media Freedom Coalition has played a vital role in exposing the risks faced by journalists around the world, co-ordinating international statements on their behalf and supporting reforms to promote media freedom. Membership of the MFC has grown to 51 countries across six continents, working globally as well as in local networks.

A panel of independent lawyers, chaired by my noble Friend Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, provides pro bono legal assistance to members on media legislation. Many UK civil society organisations also input into the MFC’s work. Through advocacy, statements and events, the coalition has played a consistent role over the last seven years in highlighting and supporting individual journalists in danger.

I am therefore pleased to tell the House that, as part of our commitment to this crucial agenda, the UK has agreed to co-chair the MFC for a two-year term, commencing on 1 March. We will take over from Germany, which has co-chaired the MFC since January 2024, and we will partner with Finland, which began its two-year term in July 2025. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary formally accepted the co-chairship from her German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, at the Munich Security Conference. As she said to the Foreign Affairs Committee recently, this Government view media freedom as a “hugely important” issue.

With our own proud traditions of a free press here at home, our long-standing commitment to promoting media freedom around the world, and our continuing support for the work of the BBC World Service, the UK is well positioned to guide the MFC at this critical juncture, ensuring that it remains a powerful collective voice in support of public interest journalism around the world.

At a time when independent public interest media is facing multiple threats—from intimidation and censorship to disinformation and financial pressures—the UK will use our role as co-chair to help the coalition step up its response.

We will work to include new voices, strengthen the sharing of expertise, and support timely, effective advocacy of journalists at risk. We will also ensure that the MFC helps nations around the world to nurture public interest media, navigate the opportunities and risks that stem from new technology, tackle the specific challenges facing women journalists, and use our collective voice to speak out for those in need.

Ultimately, the Media Freedom Coalition provides a powerful collective voice for countries like ours, which believe in the crucial importance of a free media for democracy, human rights and good governance. Now—as the world becomes more turbulent and fragmented—that voice is needed more than ever.

[HCWS1342]

Ukraine: British Embassy Office in Lviv

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

I am pleased to announce to the House that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office formally launched a permanent British embassy office in Lviv, Ukraine, on 12 February 2026. The office, headed by a member of country-based staff, represents the UK in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Volyn, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Khmelnytskyi and Chernivtsi regions.

The British embassy office in Lviv was established in 2023 as a temporary measure in the uncertain aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its transition to a permanent British presence in western Ukraine is a firm demonstration of the UK-Ukraine 100-year partnership in action. Signed on 16 January 2025 by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and President of Ukraine Volodomyr Zelensky, the 100-year partnership is an investment in our two countries for the next century, bringing together technology development, scientific advances and cultural exchanges, and harnessing the phenomenal innovation shown by Ukraine in recent years for generations to come. Core to that partnership is enhanced collaboration between regions and local administrations across the UK and Ukraine.

Lviv is a critical hub for the UK’s presence in Ukraine, serving as a centre of governance, diplomacy and humanitarian co-ordination in the west of the country. Lviv serves as Ukraine’s western gateway to the EU and NATO. It is a vital corridor for trade, humanitarian aid, military logistics and diplomatic engagement. Since the full-scale invasion, Lviv and other regions in the west of Ukraine have become a humanitarian hub, attracting displaced civilians, non-governmental organisations and international missions.

Lviv is also one of the most dynamic economic regions of Ukraine: Lviv’s IT cluster is Ukraine’s largest association of tech companies, universities and other organisations, working to transform Lviv into a global innovation and investment hub. The region’s tech sector, alongside energy, transport and defence, is central to Ukraine’s efforts against Russian aggression, and provides significant growth opportunities for British companies.

The office was formally opened by His Majesty’s ambassador to Ukraine, Neil Crompton CBE, alongside the governor of Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy, and mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi. This was then formally announced by the Foreign Secretary at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday 15 February who said:

“The formal opening of our office in Lviv is a symbol of our enduring commitment to Ukraine. We will stand with Ukraine until it is victorious against Putin’s invasion—and we want to increase trade and cultural links with the whole of Ukraine.

Our formal presence in Western Ukraine will allow us to do just that, benefiting Ukrainian businesses and supporting its reconstruction.”

[HCWS1344]

Adult Social Care, Tobacco and Vapes Consultation, and Urgent Dental Care

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

I would like to inform the House of several updates from the Department of Health and Social Care over the February recess.

Social care: allowances uplift for working age adults & disabled facilities grant 2026-27

The Government have confirmed that they will be uplifting the social care allowances, which ensure that people drawing on adult social care retain sufficient income to cover essential living costs.

From 6 April 2026, these allowances will rise in line with consumer prices index inflation—3.8%—recognising pressures from rising food, clothing and utility costs. For working-age adults, we are going further: the minimum income guarantee will increase by 7%, the first above inflation rise in over a decade. This will put over £400 more a year into the pockets of more than 150,000 working-age disabled adults, or around £510 for those also receiving the disability premium.

This uplift protects disabled people on low incomes, supports greater choice and control, and forms part of our wider programme to build a stronger, fairer national care service. We will continue to work closely with local government, disabled people’s organisations and sector partners to ensure the system remains sustainable and responsive to people’s needs.

The Government can also confirm that £723 million will be made available for the disabled facilities grant in 2026-27. This grant helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes to make them safe and suitable for their needs so that they can remain independent. Practical changes include installing stairlifts, level-access showers, or ramps. The Government are also taking action to allocate disabled facilities grant funding to local authorities in England in a fairer, more evidence-based way from 2026-27, with transitional protections to allow local authorities time to adjust. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published the details of local authority allocations here. We expect funding to be distributed to local authorities in May.

Launch of consultation on smoke-free, heated tobacco-free and vape-free places in England

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability and ill health in England. Vaping is less harmful and can help adult smokers quit, but it is not without risks, and the long-term health effects are still being studied. Exposure to second-hand smoke can be particularly damaging for children, pregnant women and people with existing health conditions.

A consultation on smoke-free, heated tobacco-free and vape-free places in England is open until 6 May 2026. It sets out proposals to extend current indoor smoking restrictions to some outdoor places, specifically public children’s playgrounds, and outside certain health and social care settings and education settings.

The consultation also proposes to make indoor places that are already smoke-free places, heated tobacco-free and vape-free as well, and extending these restrictions to some outdoor places.

The consultation does not propose extending any measures to outdoor hospitality settings or private outdoor spaces.

Responses will inform the measures that are ultimately taken forward and following the consultation, we intend to make and implement secondary legislation during the course of this Parliament.

Urgent dentistry appointments

The Government are committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, integrated care boards have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country.

From April 2026, we will cement our commitment to urgent care by making it a requirement for high street dentists to offer a minimum number of urgent appointments, including to patients who are new to the practice.

We have listened to clinical advice from the chief dental officer for England, as well as feedback from the sector that the current definition of the national target, focused on clinically urgent care, is too narrow and has meant that some patients with serious and ongoing needs are still missing out.

We will therefore broaden the scope of our pledge to deliver not just additional urgent appointments, but more appointments of all types. This will open up capacity to more patients, preventing people resorting to DIY dentistry, while retaining the urgent care safety net.

Data published on Thursday 19 February shows that the NHS delivered an extra 1.8 million courses of dental treatment over the first seven months of 2025-26 compared to the same period in the year up to the general election and almost half of these were delivered to children.

[HCWS1345]

Puberty Blockers Clinical Trial

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

Today, I am updating the House that the preliminary work to establish the pathways clinical trial into the prescription of puberty suppressants for children and young people with gender incongruence has been paused.

The MHRA, the agency authorising the clinical trial, has written to the trial sponsors, King’s College London, to raise concerns regarding the trial which will now be discussed with clinicians. On Friday, DHSC published a copy of the MHRA letter, which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6998b06d047739fe61889efb/Sponsor-letter110226.pdf

Discussions between the MHRA and King’s College London will begin this week to address these new concerns. I will review the outcome of those discussions, taking clinical advice.

I have always been clear about the red lines regarding this trial and the prescription of puberty blockers, the safety and wellbeing of the children and young people and always being led by the expert clinical evidence. Those have been—and will remain—the driving considerations in every decision being made.

The clinical trial will not start to recruit until the issues the MHRA raised have been resolved. It will only be allowed to go ahead if the expert scientific and clinical evidence and advice conclude that it is safe to do so.

[HCWS1347]

Local Government Finance Reforms

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)]

Earlier this month, this Government delivered the first multi-year local government finance settlement in a decade, coming good on our promise of reforming the system—which previous Governments failed to do.

After 14 years of austerity and decades of centralisation, councils around the country were on their knees. After being forced to cut libraries and youth clubs, there was nothing left—especially in the most deprived communities —as funding was not matched to need.

Our reforms tackled this head-on, delivering a fairer settlement which puts funding where it is needed most. As a result, by the end of the multi-year settlement period, the most deprived places will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived. Before our reforms, only around a third of councils were given the funding that broadly matched their assessed need. Our reforms bring that up to nine in 10 councils by 2028-29.

Getting funding to where it is needed is a critical step to support local government—but we are going further. For too long councils have been left footing the bill for expensive services that do not support residents quickly enough, and operating in a wider system that has not provided the right safeguards on financial risk. That is why, alongside our funding reforms, this Government are:

Resolving special educational needs and disabilities deficits by writing off 90% of councils dedicated schools grant (DSG) high needs deficits accrued to the end of 2025-26—projected to be worth over £5 billion.

Investing in prevention to end the cycle of councils footing the bill for expensive statutory services—with £2.4 billion into the Families First Partnership and £2.7 billion in homelessness, rough sleeping and domestic abuse.

Taking action to strengthen safeguards over local government borrowing—bringing forward a consultation on the use of powers to reduce capital risk.

Rebuilding the broken local audit system—including the local audit backstop programme and, through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, creating the Local Audit Office in autumn 2026.

Granting additional council tax flexibilities to seven councils with below average bills to help them reach financial sustainability.

These steps are helping to fix the foundations, but we know that recovering from the legacy of the broken local government finance system overseen by previous Governments will take time.

That is why today, I am confirming in principle support for councils in the most difficult positions. Unlike the reckless attitude of the previous Government, our approach will ensure that support is predicated on transforming services, so that councils in difficult situations move towards a sustainable recovery.

Failing system that exposed councils to increased risk

We know that the financial risk that councils have been carrying has increased in recent years, amid underfunding and the broken local government finance system.

And we also know that the most extreme financial failure in the sector was driven by a small number of councils who have amassed extreme levels of debt.

Between 2016-17 and 2018-19, councils spent an estimated £6.6 billion on acquiring commercial property, a fourteenfold increase on the preceding three years. This rapid expansion of debt-financed commercialism took place against a backdrop of funding reductions and a failure to stop bad practices that has left some councils highly exposed to risk and led to severe financial failure in others—leaving some residents facing the consequences of hundreds of millions of pounds of unsupported debt. The previous Government’s failure to address fundamental problems with the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system has left the sector billions of pounds in deficit, forcing councils to borrow to meet costs—adding to sector debt and soaking up capacity to invest in communities.

Sensible capital investment by councils is essential to support decent services, provide jobs and build much-needed homes. We need councils to have the capacity to play their part in delivering growth. But this needs to happen in a system with the right safeguards to ensure that councils invest prudently. Too often, this was not the case under the previous Government. Residents do not deserve to pay the price for bad decisions they never made.

We are already taking extraordinary action to provide debt repayment support for two councils: Woking and Thurrock. Debt repayment support is not a decision this Government are taking lightly, especially in the context of constrained public finances. But past failures left us with little other choice if we want to protect taxpayers from the spiralling cost of ever-increasing debt, and to protect services for residents in these areas. To safeguard against such failures arising in future, we will fully utilise the statutory capital powers available to Government to ensure the capital system is effective at supporting good, value-for-money investment while preventing reckless practices.

The steps this Government have taken to reform the local government finance system will reduce the unacceptable risk that built up in the sector throughout the previous Government.

But we know that the legacy of the previous system has left some councils struggling to set balanced budgets, with crisis spending leaving them unable to deliver long-term plans for service transformation.

We have been clear that we will continue to support councils in the most difficult positions and I have today agreed in principle exceptional financial support for councils where I have been assured that there is a need in 2026-27 or in relation to previous years. In some cases, these agreements reflect a reprofiling of existing support.

Under the previous Government, increasing numbers of councils seeking exceptional financial support became an accepted part of the finance system. This should clearly not be the case, and I am determined that we begin to break this cycle as part of our reforms to the system—but we cannot undo 14 years of damage overnight.

I am pleased to inform the House that several councils have told me that our reformed settlement has made it unnecessary for them to request support. Many of those who have requested support will go on to see significant increases in core spending power over the Parliament—demonstrating that we are getting money to where it is needed most.

Our reforms have allowed some councils to move away from a long-term reliance on Government support. The total figure is significantly lower than some of the extreme numbers speculated in the media.

The in-principle support agreed today is necessary to enable councils to get on with their budget processes, protecting services for residents in the context of the deep fragility left by the previous Government. But I am clear that this sort of flexibility is designed to be temporary.

Our package of reforms will directly help these councils. Most will also benefit from our 90% write-off of DSG high-needs deficits, which will free up capital budgets and reduce the amount spent on finance costs. That means more money available for services every year. And we will continue to reduce pressure on councils in receipt of exceptional financial support by removing the payday loan premium imposed by the previous Government, which made it more expensive for such councils to borrow to get out of crisis situations.

But the work does not stop there. We will continue to support these councils to transform their services to make them sustainable. As part of the exceptional financial support framework, we will ask these councils to develop robust plans for improving services, so they reach a stable position over the multi-year settlement.

We know that investment in prevention can deliver better outcomes for people and improve financial sustainability. That is why we will take a targeted approach to supporting and challenging these councils to deliver better, more efficient services.

While Government recognise the challenges all councils face, in a minority of cases, these have been exacerbated by poor decision making, excessive risk taking, and a lack of the capability and leadership needed to ensure councils are delivering modern and efficient services.

We will not hesitate to act where there is any evidence of failure. Residents deserve high-quality services, and responsible and prudent financial leadership from their councils. We are also clear that individuals should be held to account where the actions of councils have not been good enough. We are continuing to strengthen local safeguards and ensuring we have a fit-for-purpose framework for stepping in when councils are not delivering—including rebuilding the audit system and updating best value guidance.

[HCWS1346]

Local Government Reorganisation

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)]

On Monday 16 February, the Government wrote to the High Court, setting out that I had decided to withdraw my decision to postpone the council elections for 30 local councils due to take place in May 2026 in the light of legal advice.

I invited the Minister for Housing and Planning to reconsider the position afresh on an urgent basis, recognising the pressing timescales involved, and he decided that elections should proceed in May 2026.

I confirmed on 16 February that all local council elections in May 2026 will go ahead, and we have brought forward an order to revoke the previous postponement order laid on 5 February.

I recognise that many of the local councils undergoing reorganisation voiced genuine concerns about the pressure they are under as we seek to deliver local government reorganisation. My officials have been working with them to understand whether any practical support is required.

In addition, I am pleased to be able to confirm that we will provide up to £63 million in additional capacity funding to the 21 local areas undergoing reorganisation across the whole programme, building on the £7.6 million provided for developing proposals last year. I will shortly set out further detail about how that funding will be allocated.

This Government remain committed to ending the two-tier system—and the two-tier cost premium—and establishing new single-tier unitary councils. In many parts of the country, residents face uncertainty about which of their two councils is responsible for vital local services, while their council tax is spent on duplicated structures. This duplication is inefficient and costly, amounting to tens of millions of pounds that could be better directed towards frontline services.

Through this reform, we will build stronger, more effective councils that are equipped to drive economic growth, improve public services, and empower the communities they serve.

[HCWS1349]

Court Case on Gatwick Airport Development Consent Order: Disclosed Documents

Monday 23rd February 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)]

On 19 February I wrote to the judge hearing the above claim in respect of my ongoing duty of candour in those proceedings.

Pursuant to an order of the Court from 10 December 2025, on 12 December 2025 I approved the disclosure of a number of documents that related to forecasts of greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. The documents were produced to fulfil a request from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and supported preparation of the Government’s carbon budget and growth delivery plan.

The information contained in the disclosed documents was not relevant to my original decision to grant a development consent order for the expansion of Gatwick airport, as the decision-making process for considering development consent orders requires me to consider published policies and relevant legislation. The disclosed data did not represent final policy and were produced solely for the purposes of discharging the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero’s duties under the Climate Change Act 2008.

During the process of updating the Department’s aviation model in preparation for the development of new forecasts to support the setting of carbon budget 7, and the quality assurance processes involved in this, officials in the Department identified that the disclosed data contained a small error. I have apologised to the Court and the parties and submitted a statement from a senior official in the Department to explain the error and correct our position. Those parts of the documents previously submitted that require updates to remedy the error were also provided.

The error came from the incorrect application of fuel efficiency measures—and therefore incorrect emissions values—to next-generation planes that were modelled as flying beyond their standard operating range. This meant that in the small number of cases where an aircraft is modelled as flying beyond its optimal range, its emissions values were wrong.

As a result of this correction, the headline difference between the average annual total aviation emission figures as provided to the Court and the corrected figures for the CB6 period is an increase of 4.1 MtCO2e over the five-year carbon budget 6 period—i.e. with an annual average difference of 0.8 MtCO2e. The table below shows the corrected figures, which have been subject to enhanced quality assurance procedures and checks: