Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to request an indicative vote from this House on the proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals have been received, the Government will review the Airports National Policy Statement, which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.
When conducting the review, the Secretary of State will comply with the consultation and parliamentary requirements of the Planning Act 2008, as is usual.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to provide support for the proposed Liverpool to Manchester railway improvement project.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain, and the Government is committed to improving rail connectivity across the North, including boosting rail connectivity from East to West.
As announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government is maintaining momentum on Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) by progressing planning, design and development works to support future delivery. Providing better rail connectivity between Liverpool and Manchester is a key part of NPR.
The Government is committed to improving the performance of the railways.In addition to NPR, the Government is supporting the development of a multi-billion pound investment programme upgrading the North’s transport network. This work includes the Transpennine Route Upgrade and the Greater Manchester and North West programme, including exploring options between Liverpool and Manchester.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to revise the Airports National Policy Statement, published on 5 June 2018, in the context of the proposed Heathrow Airport expansion.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has invited proposals for a third runway at Heathrow to be brought forward by the summer and is clear that any scheme must be delivered in line with the UK’s legal, climate and environmental obligations.
Once proposals have been received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement in line with the requirements of the Planning Act 2008.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review the air traffic movement cap at Heathrow.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Any proposal for change to the existing planning cap on air traffic movements at Heathrow airport would need to form part of a relevant planning application.
There is currently no live Development Consent Order application from Heathrow Airport.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review the policy paper entitled Airports National Policy Statement, published on 5 June 2018.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As required by the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State will review the Airports National Policy Statement when she considers it appropriate to do so.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of expanding Heathrow Airport on the economy.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is currently no live Development Consent Order application from Heathrow Airport.
The Government would carefully consider any planning application in line with the relevant planning processes.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to provide additional funding to improve public transport networks to Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT expects airports, including Heathrow, to work closely with local stakeholders and Government to develop and update their masterplans and surface access strategies every five years.
Improvements to surface access to airports are generally funded by the airports themselves.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people impacted by increased noise pollution from proposed expansion at Heathrow.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is currently no live Development Consent Order from Heathrow Airport.
The Government would carefully consider any application for expansion at Heathrow Airport in line with the relevant planning processes.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with local authorities on powers to enforce parking restrictions for disabled bays.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is for each local authority to decide on the parking restrictions they wish to set in their areas and to decide if any parking restriction, over and above the concessions conferred by the Blue Badge scheme, should also be exempted for Blue Badge holders. If someone misuses a Blue Badge, it is a criminal offence with a fine of up to £1000 and can be enforced by a local authority. If people park in a bay without a badge a local authority can issue a parking ticket.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on Transport for London’s finances.
Answered by Richard Holden - Opposition Whip (Commons)
The Secretary of State for Transport last met the Mayor of London on 29 November 2022. In addition I met yesterday (12 July) with Deputy Mayor Seb Dance and senior TfL officials to discuss their plans to put TfL onto a sustainable financial footing.