Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect Heathrow Airport (1) to model the impact of expansion on road traffic, (2) to reset mode share targets, and (3) to confirm that road traffic will not increase as a result of any expansion proposals, in line with commitments set out in the Department for Transport document Heathrow Northwest Runway: Connectivity published in 2016.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Any promoter of expansion at Heathrow will need to model the impact of expansion on roads around the airport as part of their Development Consent Order application. National Highways will also be consulted as part of this process.
Mode share targets and road traffic mitigations will also be considered as part of the Airports National Policy Statement review. This will be published for consultation by summer 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their strategic objectives for (1) passenger mode share, and (2) rail access, to Heathrow as part of the revised Airports National Policy Statement.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the vital role that surface access will play as part of any future expansion of Heathrow Airport, and public transport including rail access will be a key part of this.
As part of the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), launched on 22 October 2025, we will consider the Government’s strategic objectives for surface access, including public transport mode share targets and rail access. A draft ANPS will be published for consultation by summer 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Transport for London's submission to the consultation on the Revised National Policy Statement (NPS) on Airport capacity in 2017, which found that 61–69 per cent of people travelling to Heathrow Airport would need to use public transport to meet the requirement of no increase in airport related traffic as a result of expansion; and how this will be included in any assessment of promoters of expansion at Heathrow going forward.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the vital role that public transport has in surface access to an expanded Heathrow airport. As part of the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), launched on 22 October 2025, we are reviewing the public transport targets required to support sustainable access to a third runway, as well as the impacts on the road network.
Transport for London will be a key stakeholder in this process, and my department will work closely with them. A revised ANPS will be published for public consultation by Summer 26.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which medicines should be prioritised for reshoring or nearshoring of manufacture, and what estimate they have made of the investment required to achieve this.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to strengthening the United Kingdom’s domestic medicines manufacturing capabilities, now and in the future, using a range of levers to support the sector more broadly.
The key lever, the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), builds on the success of three previous grant funding schemes, which are on track to provide over £520 million in private investment in medicine manufacturing and secure over 1,900 high-skilled jobs. The fund provides capital grants to support UK-wide investment in human medicines, as well as medical diagnostics and medical technology products.
One of LSIMF’s core objectives, that applications to the fund are scored against, is to strengthen the UK’s manufacturing capacity and capability to increase health resilience, as well as increasing economic growth. We define health resilience as the UK’s ability to withstand and recover from health emergencies such as pandemics, long-term healthcare challenges, and system shocks such as supply chain disruption.
Support has been provided across the medicines sector, including large pharmaceutical manufacturers, contract development and manufacturing organisations and generic manufacturers. This has bolstered the UK’s capacity in critical areas such as active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing and fill-finish capability. We do not hold a prioritised list of medicines for reshoring or nearshoring.
In 2024, the Department, on behalf of the Government, joined the European Union’s Critical Medicines Alliance which seeks to enhance the security and resilience of critical medical supply chains, encouraging actions such as greater collaboration, diversification, and boosting manufacturing of key products and APIs via reshoring and nearshoring.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to create a list of critical medicines, and if so, when that list will be published.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to create or publish a list of critical medicines in the United Kingdom.
Increasing resilience of UK medicines supply chains remains a priority for the Government. As part of work underway to enhance processes for mitigating medicine shortages and to strengthen long-term resilience we have identified medicines which are deemed both clinically critical and have potentially vulnerable supply chains. This is not a static list but a process that is used to target the most impactful resilience activities and is regularly updated to take account of the ever-changing supply situation. This information is used to inform which product areas may require additional resilience measures, and to support our work, such as targeted seasonal supply monitoring.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the metrics of each of the four tests that proposed schemes to expand Heathrow Airport will have to meet, and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
On 22 October the Government formally commenced the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which provides the primary basis for decision-making on whether to grant development consent for a new runway at Heathrow. The review will reflect important changes in legislation, policy, and data and set the four tests that any proposed scheme must meet on economic growth, climate, air quality and noise.
As part of the review, the Government will develop analysis on the economic and environmental impacts of expansion at Heathrow, which will inform the four tests. We expect to publish any revisions to the ANPS for consultation by summer 2026, together with supporting assessments.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that surface rail access, including the Southern Rail Link and the Western Rail Link, are non-negotiable conditions as part of the assessment of promoted schemes for Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the vital role that surface access will play as part of any future expansion of Heathrow Airport. As part of the review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), launched on 22 October 2025, we will consider the transport infrastructure required to support a third runway, including rail connectivity and mode share targets.
While it would not be appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the ANPS review at this stage, I can say it will be the responsibility of any expansion promoter to set out a surface access strategy demonstrating how they will meet the requirements set out in the ANPS.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will adopt the World Health Organization's noise level guidelines to address noise pollution from the operations of Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is reviewing the evidence underpinning the World Health Organization's Guidelines together with more recent evidence. This review is being undertaken by the Government’s Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits (Noise) to consider whether any updates should be made to relevant Government guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeline for making a decision on the application from Transport for London to run the Northern City Line between Moorgate and Hertfordshire.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Transport for London (TfL) has submitted a business case for the devolution of Great Northern inner services, which include the Northern City Line. No decision has yet been made. The Department is reviewing the proposal and working with TfL to assess its benefits and wider implications, such as supporting housing growth—for example, the potential development of 21,000 homes at Crew’s Hill. A timeline for a decision has not been set, but this work is continuing.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s competitive advantage in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, compared to European counterparts.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is optimally positioned to support a thriving hydrogen economy with UK companies at the forefront of hydrogen technology development.
Our approach to hydrogen balances comprehensive funding support with long-term stability, which continues to unlock significant investment.
The EU, and individual EU member states, are important partners for our shared ambitions to scale up our hydrogen sectors quickly and create opportunities for UK companies. And, as the UK Trade Strategy makes clear, supporting our businesses to grow through trade is key to future economic growth.