Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department is taking steps to ensure that the potential impact of transport-related air pollution on people with cystic fibrosis and other respiratory conditions is considered in decisions on major transport infrastructure, including airport expansion and local traffic flows.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Air pollution contributes to a range of serious health conditions. Addressing this is an important part of creating cleaner, healthier places to live and work. That is why the Government is committed to reducing harmful transport emissions and improving air quality, particularly in communities that are disproportionately affected.
The transition to electric vehicles is expected to reduce air pollution from road transport, because they generate zero tailpipe emissions and lower brake wear emissions due to regenerative braking. The Government has also provided £582 million to support local authorities to improve air quality in areas of nitrogen dioxide exceedances and continues to work with local authorities to achieve compliance with legal nitrogen dioxide limits.
The Government requires nationally significant infrastructure proposals (such as airport expansion) to meet strict environmental requirements on air quality. The Government carefully considers any application in line with relevant national planning processes and policies, including the relevant policy statements which include sections on air quality and health.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in preparing the Heathrow Expansion Appraisal Report, what consideration her Department gave to modelling the potential monetised costs of noise pollution from expansion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Heathrow Expansion Appraisal Report estimates monetised disbenefits of noise to be approximately -£1.6 billion (2024 prices) over a 60-year appraisal period. This reflects the estimated increased noise exposure causing health, annoyance and sleep disturbance impacts.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, why the Appraisal of Sustainability of the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement only modelled one set of indicative flight paths that seek to minimise the number of newly impacted people.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The analysis has used an indicative flight path design produced for the Airports Commission, which was considered the most relevant and reasonable by Department for Transport policy officials given information available at this time, in discussion with the CAA, NATS and Heathrow Airport Limited (as current airport operator). Work is currently underway to design modernised airspace for the whole London region in line with the CAA’s airspace change processes.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, why the Appraisal of Sustainability of the draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement only modelled one set of indicative flight paths that seek to minimise the number of newly impacted people.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The analysis has used an indicative flight path design produced for the Airports Commission, which was considered the most relevant and reasonable by Department for Transport policy officials given information available at this time, in discussion with the CAA, NATS and Heathrow Airport Limited (as current airport operator). Work is currently underway to design modernised airspace for the whole London region in line with the CAA’s airspace change processes.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to produce noise assessments to reflect the best and worst case scenarios that may be created by expansion at Heathrow in terms of a) numbers of people exposed to noise b) number of people currently overflown who will experience an increase in noise and c) the number of people who will be newly exposed to aircraft noise pollution.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the department’s review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) it commissioned the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to model expected impacts of aircraft noise for an expanded Heathrow. Outputs of this work are set out in an annex to the Appraisal of Sustainability published on 18 June as part of the public consultation on the draft revised ANPS, renamed the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS). This sets out estimates of the numbers of people exposed to different levels of aircraft noise before and after expansion.
The CAA modelling focused on the estimated total number of people impacted rather than distinguishing between individuals currently overflown who may experience increased noise exposure and those who may become newly affected. Results disaggregated to this level of detail are not currently available. As part of the consultation process, the department will keep under review if any further aircraft noise modelling is necessary.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimates her Department has made of the monetised costs of aircraft noise pollution for communities under Heathrow flight paths exposed to noise above 43dB.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not routinely monetise the costs of noise from existing noise sources and has not made an estimate of such costs for communities under Heathrow flight paths exposed to noise above 43dB.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to increase the length of the night period when local communities are not exposed to aircraft noise from Heathrow.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government sets noise controls at Heathrow which include limits on the number of aircraft movements permitted between 11.30pm and 6am.
The current night flight regime runs from October 2025 to October 2028. Any changes to the regime from October 2028, including changes to the night period, will be subject to a consultation. We aim to publish a consultation on this early next year.
Separately, on 18 June the Department published a public consultation on the draft revised Airports National Policy Statement, now renamed the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS). The draft HENPS sets out requirements on noise mitigation that any successful scheme for expansion should meet, including a scheduled night flight ban of 6.5 hours between the hours of 11pm and 7am.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has analysed international examples of requiring intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology for high-risk and repeat speeding offenders.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken specific analysis of international approaches to require intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology for high‑risk or repeat speeding offenders. The Government keeps the motoring offences framework under review, but does not currently have any plans to introduce Intelligent Speed Assistance for those convicted of speeding offences. The Department will continue to consider emerging evidence on technologies to improve road safety.
The Department does not have a specific national definition of a high-risk repeat speeding offender. Sentencing in individual speeding cases is a matter for the courts, which assess the seriousness of the offence by reference to the speed recorded against the applicable speed limit and any relevant aggravating factors, including previous convictions.
The Department has not commissioned bespoke data from police forces specifically on repeat speeding offenders to inform policy development. Data on motoring offences, including speeding, is published annually by the Home Office in its “Police powers and procedures: Roads policing” statistical release.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has asked police forces to provide data on repeat speeding offenders to inform future road safety policy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken specific analysis of international approaches to require intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology for high‑risk or repeat speeding offenders. The Government keeps the motoring offences framework under review, but does not currently have any plans to introduce Intelligent Speed Assistance for those convicted of speeding offences. The Department will continue to consider emerging evidence on technologies to improve road safety.
The Department does not have a specific national definition of a high-risk repeat speeding offender. Sentencing in individual speeding cases is a matter for the courts, which assess the seriousness of the offence by reference to the speed recorded against the applicable speed limit and any relevant aggravating factors, including previous convictions.
The Department has not commissioned bespoke data from police forces specifically on repeat speeding offenders to inform policy development. Data on motoring offences, including speeding, is published annually by the Home Office in its “Police powers and procedures: Roads policing” statistical release.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has a national definition of a high-risk repeat speeding offender.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken specific analysis of international approaches to require intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology for high‑risk or repeat speeding offenders. The Government keeps the motoring offences framework under review, but does not currently have any plans to introduce Intelligent Speed Assistance for those convicted of speeding offences. The Department will continue to consider emerging evidence on technologies to improve road safety.
The Department does not have a specific national definition of a high-risk repeat speeding offender. Sentencing in individual speeding cases is a matter for the courts, which assess the seriousness of the offence by reference to the speed recorded against the applicable speed limit and any relevant aggravating factors, including previous convictions.
The Department has not commissioned bespoke data from police forces specifically on repeat speeding offenders to inform policy development. Data on motoring offences, including speeding, is published annually by the Home Office in its “Police powers and procedures: Roads policing” statistical release.