Business of the House

Daisy Cooper Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I am really sorry to hear about the challenges with the Kidsgrove town deal. What we have seen with the town deal model is a bidding war—a competitive, dog-eat-dog situation—that is not working or delivering for communities. That is why we are putting record levels of investment into communities through local government funding and moving towards long-term, stable core funding, so that local communities such as my hon. Friend’s in Kidsgrove can have long-term certainty about funding.

[Daisy Cooper (St Albans) (LD)]

The Government’s expressed political support for Heathrow airport expansion has sparked concerns that they might be getting ready to expand Luton airport too, despite the fact that the Government’s own climate advisers say that no net expansion of airports should go ahead until there is a climate emissions framework in place. Have any Ministers indicated that they intend to publish a climate emissions framework, and if so, when? Will the Leader of the House use every lever in her power to ensure that, in due course, this House has a debate on that emissions framework before any new airport expansion is given the green light?

[Lucy Powell]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that issue. She will be aware that applications such as the one from Luton airport are to be considered in a quasi-judicial capacity by the Secretary of State for Transport, so it would not be appropriate for me to comment directly on that. However, I can assure her that any decisions on airport expansion would be taken in the context of our legally binding emissions targets and a whole range of criteria that she will be aware of, but I will ensure that any such decisions are brought to this House first for scrutiny by her and others.