Decarbonising Aviation

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Tuesday 21st September 2021 Westminster Hall

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Gary. I congratulate the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) for securing today’s debate and for leading it so thoughtfully at the start. She said that if we are to achieve net zero targets, we need to fight on many fronts, and that aviation is a front we cannot retreat from. I could not agree more. She also referenced the British Airways’ perfect flight. I am not sure that is a title that the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) would have come up with—she is no longer in her place.

The perfect flight was by an A320neo, which flew from Heathrow to Glasgow airport, in my constituency, using sustainable jet fuel. Continuous climbing and descent, with help from NATS, helped to achieve a reduction of CO₂ emissions of 62% compared to a similar flight 11 years ago. That shows the importance of utilising all of the tools we currently have as we transition—hopefully—to greener technology, and of airspace modernisation, which I will come to later.

The hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney) said that delivery objectives are dependent on new technologies, and pondered the question of “What if they do not come along?”—a point made by many others. The Bill presents a great opportunity for the UK to be at the forefront of transport technology—two points that we can all agree on—and decarbonised aviation can be at the forefront of the green jobs we need for the UK’s sustainable future.

The right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), who I see often in aviation debates, understandably, started off by rightly inflating the ego of my hon. Friend the Member for Angus (Dave Doogan). I will come on to his contribution shortly. The right hon. Member asked for a clear statement opposing the third runway at Heathrow before COP26, and I suspect that the Prime Minister is itching to give just that. He also floated the idea of an aviation scrappage scheme, but, from the travails of the last 18 months or so, God help the aviation Minister trying to go to the Treasury with that particular request.

The hon. Member for Westminster Hall—sorry, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—rightly spoke of the importance of Bombardier to Northern Ireland. He also floated the Northern Ireland protocol and then, frankly, dropped it as quickly as he brought it up. He spoke about frequent fliers and those who had to be frequent fliers—this is an important point—when the alternative is the train and the extra time that that takes. I have some sympathy with that point. I take the train on a semi-regular basis, but I fly a lot more, not just to support jobs in my constituency at Glasgow airport. If I took the train week in, week out, that is a lot of extra time that I would be away from my family and that is not, at this point, a sacrifice that I am willing to make—although my family might give a different answer, if they were asked.

The hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) made a very fair point about the difference in cost between air and rail travel. Rail and for that matter buses outside London are far too expensive, in all parts of the UK, and we must address that. She also spoke about the difference between green and blue hydrogen and asked the Government for more considered work on that point.

I come lastly to my hon. Friend the Member for Angus (Dave Doogan), who brought a level of expertise often missing from these debates. He described the aviation Minister as an aviation geek. He seemed affronted by that, but I am quite happy to admit that I am an aviation geek. [Interruption.] Oh sorry—he is an aviation geek; we have managed to get that on the record, so that is fantastic.

My hon. Friend spoke from the experience of his past career in aircraft engineering and maintenance. I have to say my inbox over the last 18 months has been rather full of communication from engineers at British Airways maintenance about some of the tactics that British Airways has employed. I have been in regular contact with many workers in that sector.

My hon. Friend rightly compared and contrasted the UK Government’s investment in defence programmes such as Typhoon with that in sustainable civil aviation. I also hear his well-made point about the weight of batteries, which is why they are currently not an option on any medium or long-distance flight, only on local, regional or near-regional flights. He mentioned the Vulcan and our great tradition of fantastic aircraft well ahead of its time. That took me back to my younger days at airshows like Leuchars. The Vulcan was an astonishing aircraft. I am not sure it would be within current noise levels, let alone emissions levels, but it was well ahead of its time and was a fantastic aircraft.

We need projects such as the Ampaire hybrid-electric aircraft that is operated as part of the sustainable aircraft facility at Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd at Kirkwall airport in Orkney—a centre that was funded to the tune of nearly £4 million as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to a net zero country. HIAL plans to decarbonise all its airports or at least make them carbon-neutral. Its chairwoman, Lorna Jack, said:

“HIAL’s mission is to create social benefit and economic prosperity by building Scotland’s sustainable regional airport group of the future.”

The plans are designed to match the Scottish Government’s ambition to be the world’s first zero-emission aviation region by 2040, which is being enacted in a partnership of the Scottish Government, local authorities, Transport Scotland and our airports and airlines—in particular, Loganair, based at Glasgow airport in my constituency. That airport is also playing its part, achieving carbon neutrality status in 2020, as it gets ready to welcome the world in the coming weeks to COP26 in Glasgow.

Loganair, through its GreenSkies programme, became the first UK regional airline to commit to being fully carbon neutral by 2040 to manage and mitigate the environmental impact of flying. While using immediate means of mitigation, the airline is tackling the long-term goal of introducing sustainable aircraft into its fleet, with live trials taking place in the Orkney Islands this summer on developmental aircraft powered by hydrogen and renewable electricity as the first step to fully converting Loganair’s fleet to net zero by 2040.

Orkney seems to be the place to be. It is a centre of world-leading renewable investment and technology, so it is only fitting that that cutting-edge research and development is taking place there. Using renewables for inter-island travel has the potential to not only revolutionise air travel in Orkney, but also help reduce dependence on diesel ferries, a real multiplier effect for the local economy. With the summer’s installation of the world’s most powerful tidal-powered generator off its coast, Orkney is showing how the advanced renewable technology being rolled out today is helping to support the development of the aviation sector of the future. That is only a first step, but as battery and energy storage technology advances, it cannot be long before short and medium-haul flights can encompass fully electric propulsion, making huge dents in aviation emissions across these isles and demonstrating world-leading technology on a day-to-day basis.

The live data shows that Orkney is generating more renewable electricity than it can consume. The iniquities of the network charges and the glacial pace of inter-connector investment that penalise rural and island communities like Orkney are for another debate. Had I got into BEIS questions this morning, I would have asked about that issue earlier. Using those renewables to provide quick, efficient connectivity and exporting energy to the grid for other aviation use will help to shape a future for aviation that is far more sustainable.

There are other routes to zero carbon, such as the ZeroAvia programme, which uses hydrogen fuel cells with a fully renewable cycle from electricity generation to electrolysis and powered flight. Again, that is a technology at its first—perhaps second—step, which has the potential to not only harness renewables in the aviation sector, but also spur development of hydrogen fuel cells and an improved hydrogen infrastructure, with spin-off for other industries. I hope to see real progress in the area in the next year or two, and I hope to get up to Orkney to see these revolutionary passenger aircrafts and the associated infrastructure.

I note that the transport decarbonisation plan has a commitment to consult on, among many other things, a target of reaching net zero by 2040 on domestic aviation only. I understand and appreciate that the aviation mix is somewhat different for England, particularly the south-east, in terms of large widebodies for medium and long-haul routes, but I think it is a little weak to consult on the domestic front. We need leadership, not continuous consultation. The Minister can correct me if I am wrong, but I think there are four consultations alone, just in the aviation section of the decarbonisation plan. The UK Government should follow Scotland’s lead and match ambition for a zero-emission region for England by 2040, at the very least for domestic aviation.

Decarbonising aviation is also about using what we already have smarter and better—levelling up, dare I say—and boosting efficiency throughout the industry. Of course, as many Members have mentioned, the Scottish Government would like to see a modal shift from air to rail for shorter journeys, but the fact remains that demand for medium and long-haul air travel will be here for some time. The challenge is to minimise its impact and for Government to intervene when needed to regulate and steer investment, crucially, and change. I am pleased that the Department for Transport took on board the recommendations of the Airspace Change Organising Group earlier this year, although, as I have said previously to the Minister, it is disappointing that the Jet Zero Council did not invite a representative of the group to help their work.

Modernising and remodelling the UK’s airspace is another tool that can reduce the impact of aviation emissions. I hope that as the Government take forward the results of the jet zero consultation we see far greater engagement with ACOG as a crucial piece of the decarbonisation jigsaw. Improved connectivity for non-London airports is also vital. Too often, passengers looking to travel outside of these islands are forced to change at Heathrow or another London airport to reach their final destination. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness have been assiduous at cultivating route development to miss out the south of England’s crowded skies, but too often there is a feeling that UK Government policy is led by what is good for those London airports, not for connectivity as a whole. Direct connections from airports outside of the south-east of England to destinations in Europe and elsewhere will help to reduce unnecessary journeys, maximise efficiency across the board and boost regional economies. It is a win-win. The quicker the Government move from their London-centric approach thus far, the better.

Fully decarbonising air travel and aviation is among the biggest challenges in tackling climate change and carbon emissions. It will not be easy, or indeed cheap, but investment in a real strategy now, rather than after delayed and dragged-out consultations will produce game-changing results as we move forward.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Courts]

I thank the hon. Member, who raises a very good point; I will answer her question when I get to that section of my speech.

I entirely hear the concerns raised by hon. Members, but I feel that the UK Government are leading on this and I want to spend a few moments explaining why that is the case. On our overarching approach, we are confident that by working in partnership with industry, non-governmental organisations, academics and, of course, the public, we can deliver net zero aviation by 2050 through technological solutions and not through restricting the freedom to fly.

I think that the hon. Member for Bath said that the problem is not with flying, but with emissions. I agree with that and I will explain why we will be able to get there. We want to encourage the growth of the sector as it encourages innovative new ways to cut aviation emissions while protecting the benefits of travel, which we probably all agree are cultural, economic and social. It also binds our binds our country together, as I experienced recently when I flew back from Aberdeen.

The Government take this issue seriously and have a strong record on it. We have shown steadfast commitment and are the first major economy to pass laws to end our contribution to climate change by 2050, making us one of the first major economies to legislate a net zero target. We have also set the most ambitious climate change target yet, in the sixth carbon budget, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 78% compared with 1990 levels, in line with the recommendations of the independent Climate Change Committee. Also in line with those recommendations, the Government have formally included, for the first time, the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions, meaning that those emissions can be accounted for consistently with other sectors.

July was another milestone in our pathway to jet zero as we published the jet zero consultation. I hear what the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands) says about consultations, but I think we should be using the extraordinary expertise that we have in the industry. We must get this right and we need to ensure that we are working and moving forward in a collegiate fashion.

[Gavin Newlands]

I very much hear what the Minister is sayings, but could he give an indication of the timescales for the four consultations? When will they report back and when will we see action?

International Travel

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 20th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is an excellent Chair of the Select Committee on Transport—always tough, but fair. He has rightly pointed out that there is likely to be a big expansion in the amount of transatlantic and other aviation. Things such as the pre-departure test form will be greatly simplified by not having to prove a pre-departure test at check-in. On the other side, coming back into the UK, it is Border Force that runs those services. It has spent a lot of time over the summer integrating pre-departure tests, vaccine status and other information into its e-gates. It is now trying to incorporate that. I will certainly be reflecting his comments in discussions with the Home Office, which runs Border Force and will want to make things as smooth as possible as the numbers pick up.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

For months, the sector, airlines, airports, unions and politicians from all parts of the House have called for an extension of furlough, which ends in just 10 days’ time, having essentially given up on the sector-specific support deal promised by the Secretary of State and the Chancellor. The Government again refused to listen, but, miraculously and coincidentally, the scientific evidence arrived to allow the UK Government to relax the rules just four days later. Will the Secretary of State outline what clinical advice he has received on removing pre-departure PCR tests and on the change to lateral flow testing from PCR testing on day two?

Testing international travellers before and after travel is an important part of Scotland’s border health surveillance to minimise the risk of importing variants of concern. The Scottish Government, and indeed the Welsh Government, want to maintain a four-nations approach to international travel restrictions, but they will need to consider carefully the risks associated with the proposed changes to testing before aligning with the UK Government. The First Minister will provide a further covid update to the Scottish Parliament later this week.

The Scottish Government’s changes, with sensible safeguards built in, recognise the success of the vaccination programme and will provide a welcome boost to Scottish tourism. A four-nations approach is obviously preferable, not least because Scottish travellers, as we have seen, will travel down to English airports to fly, and that may affect routes and could further job losses at airports such as Glasgow airport in my constituency. However, the Scottish Government are absolutely right to look at the evidence in detail before making such an important decision.

Moreover, the last time that there was a divergence in policy, the UK Government went against the scientific advice that the Scottish Government followed, and the result was the importation of the delta variant with huge numbers of passengers arriving in England from India. In many cases, they went on to Scotland. If there is to be a divergence, however temporary, will the Secretary of State work with airports in England and the Scottish Government to ensure that the correct checks are carried out on passenger arrival paperwork, so that passengers cannot arrive in England to travel on to Scotland to circumvent the different rules?

[Grant Shapps]

I think it would be wrong not at least to acknowledge that the delta variant has got to every single country in the world—including Australia, which does not allow its own citizens to come back freely into the country, even with quarantine. By throwing that in, the hon. Gentleman rather weakened the rest of his argument. The Joint Biosecurity Centre is so called because it works with the devolved Administrations. The chief medical officers work together as part of that set up and, as he surely must know, provide us with the same advice to consider.

The hon. Gentleman’s first point was on the furlough scheme, which has been of enormous assistance to aviation everywhere, including in Scotland. The very best help we could give to Scottish aviation workers and others would be to stop curtailing aviation and travel industries in the recovery. Those are not my words. Edinburgh airport said that the Scottish Government’s

“decision to diverge yet again…further”

curtails

“Scotland’s aviation and travel industries in their recovery”.

It leaves travel agents in Scotland, led by LAH Travel’s Linda Hill Miller, saying that it will be a “very bleak winter” in Scotland if the policy does not shift.

HGV Driver Shortages

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 13th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Are you giving up the day job?

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

God help us all, Mr Speaker, if that comes to pass.

Ministers are said to be worried about Christmas, and they should be, but the crisis is upon us now, not in three months’ time. I wrote to the Secretary of State in spring urging action, but there has been nothing until now. The impact of Brexit on daily life is becoming clear, so does he regret the number of times that Members of his party said that the prospect of bare supermarket shelves post Brexit was some baseless “Project Fear”?

The loosening of regulation must not be allowed to put safety at risk. I have been contacted by training providers in my constituency that are facing overnight financial ruin. They were given no notice, no consultation and no explanation of what the Secretary of State and his Department are proposing on trailers and on B+E tests. My constituent has seen his full list of bookings until the end of the year cancelled. How will training firms going out of business or staff being made redundant due to a lack of work help when the longer-term problems of driver recruitment, retention and drivers’ facilities still have not been addressed?

Finally, the Government must listen to the Road Haulage Association, the Food and Drink Federation and pretty much everyone else outside the Department for Transport, and grant temporary visas for HGV drivers. Is the Secretary of State lobbying the Home Office for that—yes or no?

[Grant Shapps]

Let me first stress that we have been working on the issue for a very long time. In fact, I think it was in my first meeting when I became Secretary of State—certainly my first meeting with the Road Haulage Association—when I granted the RHA £1 million for the Road to Logistics fund to bring in ex-forces and those who have been unemployed for a long time. That was the very first thing I did, more than two years ago. It is important to recognise that we had been taking action on this for a long time, and, indeed, before many others started to look at the situation. This is a long-term shortage in the marketplace.

The hon. Gentleman expresses legitimate concerns about the role now for those carrying out driver training. We are working to introduce an industry-led accreditation scheme, which could help the 16 million drivers who do not currently require trailer training to have some form of accreditation—perhaps leading to lower insurance and the rest of it—before trailing trailers. We very much hope to help, including firms in his constituency, by expanding the skills base for people driving in all its forms.

HS2

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 13th September 2021 Westminster Hall

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

It is strange but indeed a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Mundell. The debate has been excellent, with impassioned contributions from both sides, although clearly skewed to one side of the debate. I do not have much time to reflect on many of the speeches, but I will single out the Transport Committee face-off between my colleagues on the Committee, the hon. Members for High Peak (Robert Largan) and for Buckingham (Greg Smith). I am sure it will be discussed tomorrow in Committee.

That it took the UK so long to reinvest in rail after decades of de-investment and line closures and to attempt to offer a much more realistic alternative to domestic flying is to be regretted. In fact, there is an argument to be made that, given the changed working practices born out of the covid pandemic, HS2 is perhaps already too late. However, in principle we remain in favour of high-speed rail, with the Scottish Government recognising the economic benefit that a well-planned and well-delivered project could bring.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Gavin Newlands]

I have already halved my speech. We would also look to eventually have high-speed rail all the way to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Will the Minister tell us by what year high-speed rail will be delivered to the border? The Scottish Secretary could not answer that question last week. As an England-only project, HS2 falls within the remit of the UK Government with oversight by English MPs. The SNP does not usually attempt to interfere in devolved decision making for England unless there are budget implications for Scotland.

Although we support the principle, it is fair to say that the HS2 project has now regressed and become short-sighted. It does not place proper emphasis on connectivity across these islands. The fact that there is no discussion to link up to Wales directly and not even giving the Welsh Assembly any Barnett consequentials is shameful. As an England-only national infrastructure project, HS2 delivers spending consequentials to Scotland. Will the Minister confirm that that will continue to be the case to enable the Scottish Government to continue to build the carbon neutral transport infrastructure for Scotland? As the cost of HS2 continues to increase, UK Ministers must make sure that all devolved nations are not left out of pocket because of their decision to spend so much on one project in England.

We are also not oblivious to the environmental issues that many of us, even Scottish MPs, have been inundated with. It is important that any work on HS2 takes into consideration the wider environmental impact. As we have heard from many Members this evening, that certainly has not been the case thus far. The Scottish Government are of course looking to decarbonise Scotland’s transport network through decarbonising rail and investing in green buses and public transport. Scotland’s electrification scheme is an ongoing exemplar to the rest of the islands, particularly the DFT, which has electrified lines at half the pace of the Scottish Government over the past 20 years or so.

We are beginning the process of bringing ScotRail into public ownership to create a network that works for the people of Scotland and not just private profit. Scotland and the other devolved Administrations have robust processes for identifying investment priorities, each setting their own strategies and priorities for transport. Transport infrastructure, as you know, Mr Mundell, is devolved. Decisions on investment were taken by the Scottish Government through an infrastructure investment plan and the second strategic transport projects review. It will consider infrastructure proposals that are founded on robust evidence and that support the vision and outcomes of that strategy and meet the needs of the people and businesses of Scotland, not the political whimsy of the Prime Minister, whose track record in this area is nothing short of calamitous.

The Minister has said previously, and will no doubt say again today, that HS2’s connectivity will benefit the whole UK, so it is therefore important to make my final point—I know you would not agree with it, Mr Mundell, but you are an impartial Chair today. The Union connectivity review was established without any meaningful discussion with the devolved Administrations, and it undermines devolution. The UK Government are now threatening to withhold funding to Scotland unless the Scottish Government sign up to the review, which was carried out without Scottish Government input. That shows that the review is not about collaboration, but about the UK Government inserting themselves into devolved areas of government. The UK Government must respect the devolution settlement and stop undermining it for the single purpose of being able to put Union Jacks on Scottish projects.

[David Mundell (in the Chair)]

Indeed, I am neutral in this debate, so I will now move on. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi has eight minutes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 9th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Just because one side takes advantage, I do not want the other to do so.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

The penny has finally dropped. For the first time the Government finally seem to understand the scale of the problem, and they seem rattled. This was the reaction of the industry to expediting the testing process, which we welcome. However, it is nowhere near enough, and it will take at least two years to fill the gap, if they attract enough drivers. Why then, as I asked the Secretary of State when I wrote to him back in June, can he not convince the Home Office to put HGV drivers on the shortage occupation list for a temporary period? This is not just about cancelling Christmas; shelves lie empty right now.

[Grant Shapps]

I do agree that this is an urgent measure. That is why, before anybody else was talking about it, we were already acting—carrying out these consultations, putting in place these measures—and we have 50% more people being tested. I hear his call for more immigration to resolve the problem, but we do have to stand on our own two feet as the United Kingdom. There are a lot of people coming off furlough, and I look forward to those people getting jobs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Courts]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the importance of the air transport industry and the travel industry more generally, not just to his constituents but to all our constituents. That is certainly the case for my constituents, and I am acutely aware of it. The best way to support them all is to do what we in the Department for Transport are hard at work doing, which is to safely reopen international travel. Since we last spoke, on 2 August we expanded quarantine-free travel to passengers from the European Union and the United States. We are working to expand that further, and will continue to do so.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Earlier I mentioned the penny dropping with regard to HGV drivers, but the aviation and travel industries can only dream of the Government understanding the magnitude of the crisis they face. Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of jobs have gone in the sector, including 3,000 in my constituency, and that is with a job retention scheme in place. If the scheme ends this month there will be further damage to the sector. Did the Minister make representation to the Treasury to extend the scheme for aviation and travel, and if not, why not?

[Robert Courts]

As I said to the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane), the importance of this industry is well understood by me and the entirety of Government. We are working hard to ensure that we get international travel up and running again safely and securely, because that is the best way to protect all our constituents. We will continue to do that.

International Travel Rules

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 19th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Let us now go to the SNP’s spokesperson, Gavin Newlands.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) [V]]

As it happens, Mr Speaker, I am joining you from Glasgow airport, where I have just been updated on the latest developments.

I have spoken many times about the impact of the pandemic, with more than 3,000 aviation-related jobs in and around the airport having already gone. Notwithstanding the UK Government’s criminal dither and delay over the decision relating to travel from India and the importation of the delta variant, we do take a four-nations approach to international travel, so may I ask whether the Government gave the devolved Administrations notice of the decision on travel from France so that they could prepare?

However, whether we are talking about the decision about France or the fact that, owing to the delta variant, international travel is increasingly not in our gift—for example, Bulgaria added us to its red list just as we put it on our green list—the Minister must surely see the need for a specific package of support for the entire sector. The UK Government’s support does not even compare well domestically, let alone with that of the UK’s international aviation competitors. Is the Treasury not listening, or are the Minister and his colleagues just not shouting loudly enough?

[Robert Courts]

The Government have at all times an ongoing programme of engagement with all interested parties, including those in the devolved Administrations, and, as the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, the Scottish Government have followed our action in this case. We continue to talk to them, as we talk to all our international partners—that, I think, is the answer to the second part of his question—and he will of course be aware that, most importantly, we continue to talk to all parts of the sector to understand how they may best be assisted at this time.

Transport Decarbonisation

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Wednesday 14th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I am afraid that we have been here before a couple of times of late, and I understand the difficulty for the hon. Gentleman. He freely acknowledges that he has not actually seen or read this document, yet he has a stream of criticism for what is inside it, which I find extraordinary. Rather than taking in what I thought was a quite detailed statement, so that he could hear all the various different points, instead he read from the pre-ordained script, which claimed that none of the things that we were doing was really happening.

Let me remind the House, therefore, what has actually happened. The hon. Gentleman says he does not think we have been moving fast enough. Let us just check the record. While Labour was in power, it delivered 63 miles of electrified track. In just the last three years, under this Government, we have done 700 miles. He points to a lack of charging, although I announced at the Dispatch Box a couple of weeks ago—and I commented on this in my speech—that there are 25,000 public chargers.

I should also say that there are a couple of hundred thousand private chargers on top of that. I am sorry to hear that Wigan’s Labour council does not have enough charging points; I will ensure that I contact the council this afternoon, on the hon. Gentleman’s behalf, to make sure that it applies for the grants that are available so that we can sort that out for residents in Labour Wigan forthwith.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned zero emission vehicle mandates; I am pleased that it sounds as though there is some agreement on them. The decarbonisation plan discusses mandates and we have launched a consultation today. I hope the hon. Gentleman will agree that we cannot simply spring something as important as a zero emission mandate on the entire sector; we have to consult the sector first, so that consultation is being launched today.

Another nine consultations, technical documents or outcomes from consultations are being launched today alongside the plan, which I again invite the hon. Gentleman to read. I accept that he will not have done so at this time, but I think he will find that a lot of his concerns and criticisms are covered. For example, he asked where the 4,000 buses are; I have some good news for him, and it is not just that when one comes along there are three: there are 900 buses in production right now, and 50 are already on the road.[Official Report, 20 July 2021, Vol. 699, c. 5MC.] That puts us easily on track to meet our target to have 4,000 in production by the end of this Parliament. That is good news for the hon. Gentleman.

The hon. Gentleman mentioned the Jet Zero Council, and he is absolutely right. I make no apology for the Government meeting with academia and the sector. We have had our third main Jet Zero Council meeting and there have been dozens of sub-meetings of the technical working groups. What I hear is that the Opposition do not understand. Thanks to our Jet Zero Council work, we have already flown the world’s first hydrogen aircraft in this country. But it is not good enough for them; they still think we are not doing anything. I have some good news for the hon. Gentleman: that aircraft is being upsized to a 19 or 20-seater aircraft that will be flown shortly, so he will not have to wait long for more news on that front, along with the electrification of aircraft with the likes of Rolls-Royce and others.

I heard what the hon. Gentleman had to say about increasing rail usage, particularly coming out of the pandemic—it is a carbon-friendly way to travel—and I heard his party’s previous criticisms of the flexible season ticket. His stats, I am sure inadvertently, are completely dodgy. They failed to take into account the fact that anybody travelling two or three days a week would be at least 20% better off by comparison than if they bought a regular ticket or indeed a season ticket. I saw the hon. Gentleman’s YouTube video on the subject— I invite Members to watch it—and will write to him to explain chapter and verse why he was misquoting stats and information. I am pleased he reminded me of that because it gives me the opportunity to write back to him. For the purposes of clarity, I will ensure that I publish that letter for the whole House so that Members are able to judge the stats for themselves.

Lastly—I know that a lot of Members wish to speak—we are very proud of the transport decarbonisation plan, and I have mentioned the nine or 10 documents that back it up. An incredible level of detail has gone into that work. I ask: where is Labour’s plan? Where are its detailed plans? Where is the technical analysis? Labour has not read our plan and does not have one of its own, but all I ever hear is that Labour is still up for criticising ours.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) [V]]

When I was told that the Secretary of State had sent the final draft plan back because it was not ambitious enough, I harboured hopes that it might well be a serious plan to match the seriousness of our times. It would certainly require investment on a scale to which the Chancellor would not naturally be disposed. Sadly, though, from zero emission cars and buses to rail, maritime, active travel and aviation, the lack of ambition—certainly relative to Scotland—stands out.

Scotland aims to cut car use by 20% by 2030, and we will spend 10% of the transport capital budget on active travel. For the cars that remain, we have twice as many rapid charging points per head, with 60% of them free to use—a proportion three times higher than England’s 20%. Meanwhile, the UK Government have halved the plug-in car grant. Why will the Secretary of State not match Scotland’s ambition on car use? How does he think he will meet his EV targets with poor charging infrastructure and by reducing incentives, and without a scrappage scheme, while a substantial price gap between petrol and diesel cars and zero emission cars remains?

The pledge for 4,000 new buses represents only a 10th of the English fleet. Even now that the ZEBRA—zero emission buses regional area—scheme is finally in place, progress is glacial. By contrast, Scotland plans to remove half its diesel fleet by 2023 and has the equivalent of more than 2,700 buses already on order. Will the Secretary of State confirm when the 4,000 buses will actually be delivered under the current scheme and when the next scheme will begin?

The Secretary of State aims to decarbonise rail in England by 2050, which is 15 years after Scotland aims to do that. Scotland has legged away in a programme of rolling electrification. The Transport Committee recommended a similar programme for England, so will the right hon. Gentleman commit to such a programme matching Scotland’s pace? If so, when will the first schemes be announced?

For decarbonising the maritime sector there is only lip service, but I will try to end with consensus on aviation—something we agree is difficult, and in which hydrogen, alongside sustainable aviation fuels, will play a leading role. Again, Scotland leads the way, with Government investment in decarbonisation programmes and plans for electric and hydrogen test flights, working with partners such as ZeroAvia and Loganair. That is part of our ambition to make the highlands and islands the world’s first zero emission aviation region by 2040. We have a leading position in hydrogen aviation technology, but we must increase investment to ensure we stay that way.

[Grant Shapps]

I am always keen to work across the House, wherever we agree, including on that last point about aviation and, indeed, the number of car chargers in Scotland. That is all good, but I cannot understand why the hon. Gentleman is talking about the success of the car charger roll-out while also being anti-car and saying that he does not want people to use a car, or even electric vehicles that are green. I do not understand how he can be proud of both points at the same time.

My main point is that he comes to the Chamber quite often, either remotely or in person, and he sings the praises of the Scottish Government. I therefore thought I would check the facts for the clarity of the House, and time and again, the SNP Government have missed their own statutory target for reducing emissions. That was not for one or two years; it is now for the third year in a row.

International Travel

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 8th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s question. She is absolutely right. I have been working with the Home Secretary and Border Force on exactly that issue. I should perhaps be a little more specific about where travellers might expect queues. Quite a lot of the checking will be done upstream—in other words, before people board the aircraft, train or boat, at the location from which they are returning. Queues at check-in abroad may, in fact, be the place where those problems most exist. Many airlines are developing systems to further automate that process, but they will be doing quite a complicated job, checking the passenger locator form against the booked test still required on day two and, of course, vaccine status. I think it is fair to warn people who are travelling this summer that it is a process that we have not had to do before. My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that it is important that the borders at this end are as smooth as possible. Indeed, a lot of investment is going into automating all that.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement.

I share the concerns of the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon), about the lack of transparency in the data, and the Secretary of State’s answers on that were simply not good enough. We need to see more data and more quickly than we are at the moment. Although I welcome the thrust of the statement, I think the Secretary of State is being just a little disingenuous when he said the industry tells him that support is welcome and they need to get flying again. In and of itself, that is of course correct, but what he did not say is that that industry is still crying out for further support, because most of the industry has not had grant support, despite being the hardest hit sector in the economy.

I have said a number of times in the last few weeks that Glasgow Airport in my constituency has lost a third of the workforce that is based on site. That is 2,000 jobs gone locally at the airport and well over another 1,000 jobs beyond the airport that are connected to aviation. The Scottish summer season is already well over two weeks old and by the time this policy kicks in for England, teachers in my area will be back in schools three weeks thereafter, so only a very short window remains. The Government must therefore extend furlough for the sector—no ifs, no buts. Although this announcement will help, the number of passengers will still be significantly down, so the need for a sector-specific support package is still very clear.

From the outset, the Scottish Government have said that caution is required regarding international travel and people should think carefully about travelling abroad, as situations can suddenly change. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the other home nations and are cautiously supportive of exploring options for the easing of restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from countries on the amber list, but only if the clinical advice supports it and the systems are in place to ensure the wider safety of the Scottish population.

Rumours have circulated for months about robust Cabinet discussions on international travel, with, among others, the previous Health Secretary, the right hon. Member for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock), and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster often on one side, and the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Transport on the other. One cannot help but note the change of pace in the changes to international travel now that the new Health Secretary, the right hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), is in place. How can plans for an ambitious return of travel be made if the UK Government’s rush to unlock domestically, with 100,000 cases a day and so on, means that other countries close their borders to UK travellers?

Lastly, as has been said, mask wearing on aircraft and, indeed, all public transport is to most of us a no-brainer. As the Secretary of State did not address the shadow Secretary of State’s question, I will ask it again: will mask wearing on aircraft be compulsory? Will the Secretary of State confirm whether he will continue to wear a mask on all public transport?

[Grant Shapps]

I should point out that the change of pace is because we now have a situation in which the majority of adults in the UK are fully vaccinated. That was not the case a month ago, when we postponed step 4; it is the case now. I can confirm to the hon. Gentleman that I was in fact already discussing the changes with the previous Health Secretary.

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that I omitted to mention masks; I should bring the House up to speed. We will still provide, in guidance, information about mask wearing. We know that it is sensible in more enclosed spaces, and personally I will wear a mask where it is appropriate to do so. The airlines have already said that mask wearing is a condition of carriage in, I think, all the cases that I have seen, and where it is a condition of carriage, I will of course always wear one. On the other hand, if we are talking about being in an empty carriage on a long-distance train for many hours, people will use their common sense, which is something that we on the Government Benches absolutely applaud and agree with. We are pleased to be able to get back to a guidance situation.

The hon. Gentleman is a doughty campaigner for Glasgow airport and often challenges me on these matters; I have to say to him that he might want to look a little bit closer to home. It is only very recently—in June—that the Scottish Government banned Scots from travelling to Manchester. As a direct result, easyJet cancelled new routes that would have connected a whole bunch of Scottish airports. No wonder the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association has said that the Scottish Government’s approach to aviation is sacrificing the industry. I am afraid a lot of the answers the hon. Gentleman is looking for are closer to home. Meanwhile, the UK Government have provided £7 billion of support to the sector. I notice that the opening up announced today has so far yet to be reflected by Scottish Government announcements as well. If the hon. Gentleman really wants to help, he can help to move along the policy in Scotland.

Regional Airports

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Westminster Hall

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I congratulate the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) on securing the debate. He led it very well. I could not disagree with anything he said; in fact, that goes for pretty much every contribution.

The hon. Gentleman spoke of regional airports and regional connectivity being vital to the levelling-up agenda. It is also crucial to other sectors, as I outlined a couple of weeks ago. We have had a number of debates on a similar theme in recent weeks. I will try not to repeat too much of what I have said, but inevitably I will cover similar ground.

The hon. Gentleman also covered PSOs. He can correct me if I am wrong, but I think he said that there are only three in the UK and they are all linked to London. However, that is the English position, because there are a number in Scotland. There are three PSO routes linked to Glasgow—Barra, Tiree and Campbeltown—and a number of other PSO routes are subsidised by local authorities in the Shetlands, Orkneys, Western Isles and Argyle and Bute. As we heard from the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), there is a potential additional PSO route to Wick, which I would very much welcome.

The hon. Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory) made a fantastic speech. Sadly and unusually, a number of Members have pulled out of the debate, but other contributors included the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), who always takes part in these debates, and the hon. Members for Mansfield (Ben Bradley) and for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell). And, of course, no Westminster Hall debate would be complete without a contribution from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). He said that we had regional airports to thank for getting him here on time each and every week. I do not think there is any better argument for regional aviation.

As well as being the SNP Front-Bench spokesperson on this topic, I also represent Glasgow airport, which is operating at just 10% of normal capacity at the moment. In addition, we are losing another summer. Let us not forget that, while we talk down here about the school holidays and summer season starting at the end of the month, in Scotland the summer season has been under way for two weeks, and the Northern Ireland school holidays started in the past week or so. The season is already getting beyond Scotland and, to a large degree, Northern Ireland. It is crucial to recognise that.

Glasgow has lost 100% of its long-haul routes, 70% of its international flights and half of its domestic flights. Last year, Glasgow carried 1.9 million passengers—bear in mind that some of last year’s restrictions were not as bad as they are this year—compared with about 9 million in 2019. The last time passenger numbers from Glasgow were this low there was in 1970. Airlines UK has found that without Government support, UK airports will lose around 600 routes as a result of the pandemic. Crucially, it says that some 80% of those lost routes will be from the UK’s regional airports. In other words, the Heathrows and the like will be shielded in the medium term from the worst of the damage.

Given that, and given the long delay in publication, will the Minister confirm when the regional connectivity review will see the light of day? If the Government are genuinely serious about the levelling-up agenda, they must do something to address that specific point. Regional airports, as has been said by many speakers today, drive the regional economies they serve. It is not just about going on holiday. Commerce follows connectivity, and without a meaningful direct route network, Scotland’s place on the world’s stage is at risk, thereby affecting our ability to export and attract foreign direct investments —something we have been incredibly successful at for a number of years. Our successful inbound tourism industry is also at risk.

Pre-covid, tourists were, obviously, spending. Tourism in Scotland generated approximately £12 billion of economic activity for the wider Scottish supply chain and contributed around £6 billion to Scottish GDP, representing about 5% of Scotland’s total GDP. Pre-covid, Glasgow exported over £1.7 billion-worth of goods—more than any other Scottish airport. The majority went out in the belly hold of passenger flights—the very flights we are at risk of losing for good.

There has been much understandable consternation in the industry and beyond with regard to the decision-making process behind the traffic light system. The Government must be more transparent about the decisions they are making regarding why country X, with a potentially lower incidence rate, is on the amber list, while country Z, with a significantly higher rate, is on the green list. Despite what the Secretary of State said during Transport questions the week before last, that level of data is simply not available. The virus is a big enough variable for the industry to cope with—it does not need an even bigger variable in the form of completely unpredictable Government decision making on the traffic light system. The public also need to be convinced and to trust a traffic light system. It has to be said again that the decision to put India on the red list for England was delayed for far too long, and we can see the direct result in our current incidence rate.

One third of on-site jobs at Glasgow airport have already gone, and countless more off-site jobs have been lost from supply chain companies. As I said in this very room two weeks ago, the crucial point is that, such is the cash burn of and outlook for the sector, thousands of jobs have gone while there is a furlough scheme in place. As the Minister knows, jobs in aviation and, indeed, in the wider travel and tourism industry will be decimated in September if the furlough scheme is not extended for those sectors. Not only will that be an economic and social tragedy for thousands of families across Renfrewshire, and perhaps hundreds of thousands around the UK, but the loss in economic output and the cost to the Treasury of short to medium-term unemployment support and associated benefits would be an act of economically illiterate self-harm. There is no pontification or equivocation here—furlough must be extended for these sectors, or many parts of the industry and the hundreds of thousands who work in it face ruin.

The Minister will get up and repeat the sums about the support given to industry. Much of that is furlough, which I and many others of course welcome and which must continue, but in essence the rest is debt, resulting in our airline industry having a much higher debt ratio than much of its international competition, where support, as outlined already, is largely through non-repayable grants. The sum in the USA is £23 billion, in Germany nearly £8 billion, in France £6.5 billion, and in the Netherlands more than £3 billion.

As others have mentioned, limited relief was provided to English airports in November, when the UK Government finally introduced a limited business rate support scheme for the sector. That was seven months after the Scottish Government had announced a similar but more generous scheme in Scotland, where it is not capped and extends to airlines based there, too. Moreover, the Scottish Government moratorium has been extended by a full year, whereas the UK Government’s limited and capped version will continue for only six months. That is clearly an unsustainable position. Will the Minister, in summing up, confirm that an extension is being considered?

Another issue that has hit regional airports a lot harder than the bigger airports was the loss of VAT-free shopping on 1 January, through the scrapping of the extra-statutory concession scheme. I was reminded of that by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (David Linden), who travelled through Glasgow airport a bit earlier than me on Monday. He spoke to a member of the duty-free staff who said that, just prior to my colleague going in, they had lost out on £6,000-worth of whisky sales to an individual, because the rules now do not allow for that. That was £6,000 lost in just one transaction.

The result of the Government consultation on the extra-statutory concession was overwhelming. In fact, it was near unanimous, such was the support for the continuation of some form of ESC after Brexit, but again the Treasury ignored those responses. This is yet another revenue stream that helps employ thousands of people across the country and is vital for many airports. Regional airports depend on the revenue from air-side shopping to a far greater degree than the Heathrows of this world. In fact, up to 40% of a smaller airport’s revenue is generated through shopping, as a higher proportion of passengers are flying point to point, rather than domestically through a hub such as Heathrow.

Kicking away that financial structure at a time of huge pressure on the finances of airports is another unnecessary blow to an industry that is reeling from the pandemic, and many regional airports in England are still dealing with the after-effects of the collapse of Flybe. In Scotland, it is estimated that the abolition of the concession will potentially result in the closure of most retail outlets at airports and lost revenue of about £20 million and hundreds more jobs, which neither retail or airports can afford. In fact, in Glasgow five retail outlets and at least three food outlets have closed and will not reopen. The UK Travel Retail Forum said:

“This could be the final nail in the coffin of several UK regional airports.”

The entire industry is on its knees, and I am concerned that the forum is right.

To come to a conclusion, I have made this point recently, such that I sound like a broken record. This is about the 37th time I have asked about support for the aviation sector. That is not just the furlough scheme, crucial though it is, but bespoke support for the sector, which let us not forget is the sector hardest hit by covid. Indeed, we need the kind of bespoke support that the Chancellor and the Secretary of State promised at the outset of the pandemic. I well remember being in the room when the Secretary of State, having claimed to have saved Flybe only to watch it collapse, said to the industry:

“I understand the enormity of what you are facing, and this Government will stand by your side.”

No one in the industry feels that the Government have been by its side. I ask the Minister again: are the Government actively considering a bespoke aviation, travel and tours recovery package? Many sectors that have been far less affected than aviation have had that kind of support.

As I have said, the UK started the pandemic with the world’s third-largest aviation sector, but as one third of that workforce are already gone, it will certainly not come out of this as the third largest. Thousands of people in my constituency alone are losing their jobs. Parts of the industry are on the verge of collapse. As I said two weeks ago, time is running out. We need action, and we need it now.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts)]

It is a real pleasure and honour to serve under your chairmanship, Ms McVey. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) for securing this important debate. He and I have spoken on many occasions—not just about his vital airport, but about regional connectivity in general. He is hugely knowledgeable and passionate. As a consequence, he is an incredibly powerful advocate not just for his local community, but for regional air connectivity in Cornwall and the whole of the UK.

I thank all hon. Members for the varied and excellent points that they have made, and I will do my best in the time available to respond to as many of them as possible. The Government entirely understand and recognise the severe economic impact that the covid-19 pandemic has had on regional airports. They are critical regional and national infrastructure, and we continue to work to understand the industry and to see how it can be best supported at this time. Before I address some of the wider points that have been made, I will say a word or two about Newquay airport, because it is so important to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay.

Newquay airport is vital for connections to the south-western corner of our nation. It connects to nine UK airports, the Isles of Scilly, Faro and Alicante. Newquay airport provided vital access for world leaders accessing the G7 summit last month and, as my hon. Friend rightly says, it was clearly vital to the success of the summit. The £7.8 million provided by the Cabinet Office for infrastructure improvements for the G7 enabled the efficient handling of air traffic and the aircraft that were required for the summit. I am pleased that the works will also ensure that the summit leaves a long-term economic legacy at Newquay airport.

I will be in Cornwall tomorrow as part of the Maritime Safety Week programme. I will be returning from Newquay airport, and I am delighted that my hon. Friend will, I hope, be joining me on a visit to and tour of the airport. We will see again, for ourselves, quite how vital this airport is, not only to him, his area and the constituencies surrounding it but to the whole of the UK. That is because the UK enjoys one of the best connected, best value and safest aviation industries anywhere in the world. The aviation industry creates jobs, encourages our economy to grow and connects us, as my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Cherilyn Mackrory) eloquently explained, with the rest of the world. It consolidates and expands this country’s position as a dynamic trading nation. That is doubly the case with regional airports.

Regional airports serve our local communities. As the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) vividly explained today, they support thousands of jobs and act as a gateway to the international opportunities to which I have already referred. They maintain social and family ties, and strengthen the bonds between our four nations.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), as ever, made a wonderful contribution. He explained that regional aviation is vital not only to Northern Ireland as a whole but to his weekly commute. The hon. Member is the personification of the vital economic and social link that regional aviation provides for Northern Ireland and for the United Kingdom.

Prior to the pandemic, the aviation sector directly contributed at least £22 billion to GDP each year and supported half a million jobs in the UK. Maintaining a strong, privately operated and competitive aviation industry is vital to our economy. It supports a truly global Britain and the communities that surround airports.

The hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mike Kane) used a wonderful phrase: “the airport community.” He is absolutely right. He referred in particular to Humberside and, of course, to Manchester, which is so important to him. The phrase “the airport community” could apply, and does apply, to so many of the Members who have contributed to this debate, and to many others who would have liked to have done so.

I would like to dwell for a moment, Chair, on some of the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield (Ben Bradley). He made powerfully clear the importance of East Midlands airport to his constituency and region. Regional airports are vital for levelling up. They enable local communities and businesses to connect with London and beyond. They play a key role in levelling up our regions and building global Britain. It is absolutely vital that that air network is maintained, because it is key to achieving positive and growing economic outcomes for our regions. Our objective is to ensure that all nations and regions of the UK have the domestic and international air transport connections that local communities and businesses rely on, while of course ensuring that we meet our net zero commitments. I will come to that in a moment.

The importance of this regional aviation network has been seen as never before during the covid crisis. Although it has clearly impacted regional airports across the UK, and the airlines that operate out of them, the sector has continued to perform well and has adapted despite the challenges. We have spoken of Newquay already. The Newquay to London route is operating during the summer, as commercial operators are offering enough flights to be able to meet the demand for staycations. We have heard that the G7 summit was facilitated by that.

As of last week, a new route began operating from Teesside airport to London Heathrow. It will link passengers from Teesside, via Heathrow, to 134 destinations throughout the world. We have seen vividly over the course of the last year that the sector has adapted to provide critical support during the pandemic. For example, aviation freight has been vital for getting the amount of personal protective equipment the UK has needed, both through airports that are freight specialists and through passenger airports that also deal with a heavy amount of freight. My hon. Friend the Member for Mansfield has clearly explained the importance of East Midlands to his region, and Birmingham airport has also stepped up to provide more red-list terminal capability and capacity.

[Gavin Newlands]

The Minister has made a very good argument and case for regional air connectivity, so can he tell us if and when the regional air connectivity review will be published?

[Robert Courts]

I shall return to the hon. Gentleman’s points, but on that point, in brief, we will look to publish that regional connectivity piece as part of the strategic framework for recovery of the sector that we will publish later this year. I will come on to some of the regional connectivity review points in a little while, but that is the brief answer to his question.

I would like to say a word or two about the wider use of airfields, the diversification of them, and the ability for airports and airfields to provide highly skilled, dynamic and innovative businesses with opportunities to grow and flourish. That involves things such as the maintenance of aircraft, manufacturing, aviation services, and research and innovation. Airports and airfields are not just vital for their local economies, but critical to the success of the aviation sector more broadly. My hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay of course chairs the APPG on general aviation and will know how important they are for that. I know that he shares my passion for that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth spoke about the use of commercial airports for aerospace or military aerospace. There are of course many examples all over the country, but Cobham at Teesside airport is one that immediately springs to mind. Then there are regional airports that have diversified into other, additional functions—things such as pilot training. Oxford airport, just outside my own constituency, is a powerful example of that. Perhaps the most vivid example of all is Newquay airport in hosting a spaceport.

The hon. Member for Strangford pointed out that many services need regional aviation. He rightly referred to search-and-rescue helicopters, to police helicopters and, of course, to oil and gas maintenance and facilitation. The mixed use of aviation and airspace is absolutely vital, going far beyond the immediate core vital function that we have spoken about today.

I would like to say a word or two about route support and PSOs—an issue raised by a number of hon. Members, including of course my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay but also the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) and the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), who spoke just a moment ago. The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross had the wonderful phrase “from Cornwall to Caithness”. I suspect that other hon. Members might wish to add some stops en route, so that we have Cornwall to Caithness via Manchester, via Glasgow and via Belfast, for example; there are many other places. His phrase was wonderful; I apologise to him for having mangled it in the course of including other hon. Members. His essential point, that regional aviation covers the country from Cornwall to Caithness, is of course a very important one.

We continue jointly to fund public service obligation routes from, for example, Londonderry and Dundee into London, protecting air connectivity from some of the most far-flung parts of the UK. We are, as I have stated already, very pleased that commercial services have operated between Newquay and London over the summer and will continue until the end of October. We are working closely with Cornwall Council to ensure that air connectivity on the route can continue beyond the end of the summer season.

I recognise, of course, the significant impact that covid-19 has had on regional airports, airlines, economies and connectivity. We will consider whether there are further opportunities to utilise PSOs alongside other policy measures that look towards meeting our ongoing regional-connectivity and levelling-up objectives.

The hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross asked to meet me about Wick airport. Of course I would be delighted to meet him to discuss that and any other issue that he may wish to discuss with me. He will of course realise that if a PSO is considered to be intra-Scotland, the Scottish Government would be the right place for him to direct his inquiries, but of course I am happy to work with him to see what more we can do to strengthen regional aviation in his part of the world.

A number of Members mentioned air passenger duty. Of course, as part of its plan to boost regional connectivity to support the commitment to net zero by 2050, the Treasury launched a consultation on aviation tax reform that explores reforms to air passenger duty. It is an area often cited by the sector as a barrier to domestic connectivity. That consultation has set out the Government’s initial policy position that, following our departure from the EU, the effective rate of APD on domestic flights should be reduced. The consultation closed on 15 June. The Treasury is now considering responses and will give an update on response timings in due course.

I have already briefly referred to the regional connectivity review, in answer to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North. The Union connectivity review by Sir Peter Hendy is under way and will be published later this year. That will explore how improvements to transport connectivity between the four nations of the United Kingdom can continue. That is independent of Government and is expected to examine various modes, including air links.

A number of hon. Members rightly mentioned decarbonisation: my hon. Friends the Members for St Austell and Newquay and for Truro and Falmouth, and the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East, in particular. The Government have introduced a wide range of measures to support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector, including a £15 million competition to support the UK production of sustainable aviation fuels—SAF, as they are called—and the introduction of the UK’s emissions trading scheme, which is 5% tougher than the EU equivalent, and covers all domestic and UK to European economic area flights. In June, we launched the first round of the £3 million zero emission flight infrastructure competition, supporting the development of the infrastructure that is required to aid electric and hydrogen aircraft. That will help to build the UK airports and airfields of the future.

The UK’s domestic aviation sector is well placed to be at the forefront of decarbonisation. I welcome the recent announcement from Loganair that its operations will be carbon neutral by 2040, to be achieved through the use of SAF, hydrogen and battery-electric propulsion, as technological advances allow. The Government will shortly consult on our jet zero strategy, setting out the steps that the sector will need to take to achieve net zero by 2050.

A number of hon. Members asked about the future, the recovery of the sector and the strategy: my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay, the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North and the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) who was not Zoom-bombing—his contributions are always very welcome, whether on Heathrow, the green recovery or any other matter concerning aviation. We will be looking ahead for the sector and will need to set out the path for recovery in a way that supports not only the aviation market but the wider objectives of levelling up and building back greener.

We are working on the strategy for the future of aviation in the UK, to be published later this year. It will explore the sector’s return to growth, including workforce and skills, aviation noise, innovation and regulation, consumer issues and, critically, regional connectivity, as I have explained. It will also consider climate change and decarbonisation, as well as the critical role that aviation plays in retaining the UK’s global reach. As I explained, the strategic framework will be published later this year.

There is no doubt that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the UK’s aviation sector but regional connectivity and regional airports are a vital part of it, and we are committed to ensuring that they are at the forefront of Government plans to help the sector to recover. The Government are always keen to engage with aviation stakeholders to find ways to ensure the swift recovery of the sector.

Although uncertainty remains in the path ahead, we are committed to this world-leading aviation sector, both its international and regional parts. We will ensure that the sector has the tools it needs to return and grow in a safe and sustainable way. I thank all hon. Members who spoke for such an excellent, wide-ranging, highly knowledgeable and helpful debate on this critical topic.

International Travel

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Tuesday 29th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I will certainly be very pleased to return to this House with further details as soon as next month. I explained in my opening remarks that there are quite a number of complexities to do with how we treat children and younger people who have not yet had the opportunity to have two vaccinations. Although we will have everybody on a single vaccination, promised by 19 July, there will still be significant numbers who would not be able to travel under that system, so there are a lot of fairness issues to resolve too. However, like my hon. Friend, I share the absolute desire to return international travel as soon as we practically can to something as close as possible to normality, while recognising that it is important that we ensure that variants of concern are properly monitored and not brought into this country. One of the problems that we have is that no other country in the world sequences the genome at the rate that we do, which means that it is sometimes very difficult to tell what is happening in other countries, so we sometimes have to be cautious, but I will return to this House.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) [V]]

Aviation is the hardest-hit sector, according to the Office for National Statistics. One third of the 6,000 jobs based at Glasgow airport and countless more in the supply chain are gone, a proportion that is common in the sector. In business travel, 60% of workers have gone and of those who remain, 80% are on furlough, and that is the key point: hundreds of thousands of jobs have gone while there is a job retention scheme in place.

This is the 36th time I have asked about support for the aviation sector since the start of the pandemic, back in the day when the Secretary of State was boasting of saving Flybe and the Chancellor was promising a sector-specific deal. With many parts of Europe now wary of the UK delta variant outbreak, five bleak winters in a row beckon for the sector. Are the Government finally considering keeping their word on grant support and extending its limited and capped business rates support to at least match the duration of the unlimited cover in Scotland? Crucially, is the Secretary of State lobbying the Treasury to extend furlough for the sector? Finally, does the clinical advice given to the Government fully support these decisions on double vaccines for travellers and travel to amber list countries?

[Grant Shapps]

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, who often speaks up for aviation, given the airport-constituency connection that he has. I point out again that we have provided billions of pounds of support for the aviation sector, including to the Scottish aviation sector, through money that has gone from the furlough programme, for example.

The hon. Gentleman asked a series of questions, and I fear I may have to redirect him in some cases to his own Scottish Government, because I have the Scottish airports constantly on the line to me complaining about the actions of the Scottish Government, who seem to do everything they possibly can to make it harder for airlines and airports to see a route to a recovery. That said, there was a strong degree of work together to bring in the latest changes to the traffic light system.