Aviation Industry

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe), first, on securing this debate on the future of aviation, which has clearly been in demand from other Members—we have had an excellent debate—and, secondly, on the birth of his granddaughter, Rosie, who will think that she is the centre of the universe by the time she is old enough to read Hansard. I also welcome you, Mr Gale; it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship.

Our aviation industry is central to our economic prosperity and should be a key driver of the growth without which we have no prospect of emerging from the dangerous economic situation in which we find ourselves. The industry contributes more than £11 billion to the UK’s gross domestic product—more than 1% of the total—and supports up to 200,000 jobs directly and 600,000 indirectly across the UK.

I regret, however, that just as the Government do not have a credible strategy for growth, neither have they yet managed to set out a credible strategy for aviation, let alone set out the role that aviation could play in improving our economic situation. For a crucial sector on which our economy depends, the reaction from business to the Government’s decision not to set out an aviation strategy until the latter part of this Parliament has ranged from incredulity to plain bemusement.

I would much rather that we were not in opposition—it is a deeply frustrating place to be, as the Minister may recall—but the one thing that it provides is the time and space to develop ideas for the future, as well as some detailed plans. However, after 13 years in opposition, it is clear to the industry and to the wider business world that this Government came to office without such plans.

We have had lots of consultations, relentless industry engagement, scoping documents and taskforces. That is all very laudable, yet none of it makes up for the lack of a policy, let alone a strategy. With the economy on the brink, holding out the prospect of a policy late in the latter part of a five-year Parliament is, frankly, not good enough. It represents a total failure to prepare for government, and Members do not have to take my word for that. The chairman of the Airport Operators Association, Ed Anderson, has said that, while the industry knows what the Government are against,

“we are not sure yet what it is in favour of”,

and he went on to describe “better not bigger” as an “election slogan”, saying:

“Better not bigger doesn’t constitute a strategy.”

The Government also face international criticism. The chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, Giovanni Bisignani, has been quoted as saying that the Government seem

“intent on destroying its competitiveness with a policy agenda focused on increasing costs and limiting capacity growth.”

Sir David Rowlands, a former permanent secretary at the Department for Transport, has described the Government’s policy as “mildly extraordinary”, which is damning criticism from somebody from the higher reaches of the mandarinate.

Baroness Valentine, speaking for London First, said in another place earlier this year that

“government seems content for aviation policy to drift.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 24 March 2011; Vol. 726, c. 872.]

She has also said, most damningly, that

“the Government’s aviation strategy is damaging our economy and enhancing that of our EU rivals.”

We have heard that criticism echoed by some Members who have contributed to today’s debate.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Maria Eagle]

In a moment.

I am sure that the Minister saw the letter in The Times earlier this year signed by 74 senior business leaders. Setting a long-term strategic direction for aviation in London, the wider south-east and across the country is a vital part of delivering the growth and jobs that the country needs, and the letter concluded:

“All options must be considered, short term and long term, to address growing demand.”

We agree with them, which is why earlier this month, in a speech to the Airport Operators Association, I made an offer to the Government, which I am happy to repeat today. We are willing to take the politics out of aviation, put aside party differences and work together on a joint aviation policy for the good of the nation. As I have said, this is a clear, unambiguous offer, with no catch.

Aviation matters to our country—every Member who has spoken in this debate has said so—and to businesses and families throughout the country. It is an industry that needs stability for the long term, and a long-term plan that straddles Parliaments and Governments and that is capable of surviving after fruition.

In addition to the Government’s more immediate work that they must conclude—that is fine—I believe that the best way forward is the establishment of a cross-party commission to set out our long-term aviation strategy for a generation or more. We should not have rows from one Parliament to the next about an element of the strategy, but set out a long-term plan. We must not repeat the party political wrangling that turned the proposed third runway at Heathrow into a political football. We must also agree that we will then stick to that agreed strategy, whatever the outcome of the next election.

Any terms of reference for such a cross-party examination of capacity will inevitably start with an understanding that the answer for the south-east will not be to fall back on the proposed third runway at Heathrow. We have accepted that the local environmental impact means that that is off the agenda. The cross-party body must have the freedom to look at all options for growth, including in the south-east, while prioritising making the best use of existing runways and airports. A bigger prize is available for us all if we put political battles to one side and develop a long-term strategy for aviation to which everybody can sign up. It is time to move on and find an alternative way forward.

I should like the Minister to clarify the Government’s position on two further issues: first, the link between high-speed rail and aviation; and secondly, emissions from aviation. We have offered Ministers our clear, cross-party support for the high-speed rail line that we proposed when in government. I have been clear that we will work with the rest of the House to deliver the legislation needed to take forward that vital project. We fully accept that there is simply no other credible way to tackle the growing capacity issues on our existing main rail lines. We have, however, argued that there is a clear case for connecting the new high-speed rail line directly to Heathrow from the start. The Opposition and the Government agree that the line should connect to Heathrow; the only debate is over whether that happens from the start, or via a costly, multi-billion pound spur, tacked on at a later date.

As we have argued, taking the line via our major hub airport opens up the prospect of private sector funding, potentially saving the taxpayer billions. It would lead to a new route that made better use of existing transport corridors and better protected the area of outstanding natural beauty that the current proposal crosses. It would also open up the opportunity to connect to the Great Western main line, thus bringing the benefits of the high-speed line to the south-west and Wales and increasing connectivity for the south-west to Heathrow.

Creating a major new transport hub to the west of London at Heathrow—rather than several miles away at a site with other, inadequate transport connections—that mirrors the hub in the east at Stratford represents the joined-up thinking that is too often lacking in our transport infrastructure planning. I hope that the Minister will confirm that the Government are looking at that alternative proposal.

Our proposal is one that the Minister herself supported when she was the shadow Secretary of State for Transport, and I suspect that she still sees its merit. I hope that she will indicate a willingness to look again at it. She has our support as she seeks to do better at persuading her new Secretary of State of the merits of the case than was possible with the previous Secretary of State.

On carbon emissions, I hope the Minister agrees that we will simply not achieve the goal set out in the Climate Change Act 2008 to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050, compared with 1990 levels, unless aviation does more. That is why we believe that future aviation growth must go hand in hand with a greater cut in aviation emissions than we agreed when we were in government.

The Government have failed even to re-affirm their commitment to the existing emissions target for aviation that we set in government. I hope that the Minister will take the opportunity to do that today and that she will support our call for the Energy and Climate Change Committee to set out what it would mean for aviation to go further and ask it to update accordingly the carbon budgets that have been set.

I hope that the Minister will agree with us that, in principle, international aviation should be included as well, once the Committee produces its advice on accounting methodology. As the Minister will know, the industry’s sustainable aviation road map makes it clear that, by 2050, it is possible to get absolute emissions down to levels seen at the turn of the century, even as passenger numbers are projected to grow by a factor of three, so we all agree that it is possible to do more. Therefore, this should be seen not as a threat but as an opportunity. Fuel efficiency improvements in aircraft engines and air frames, improvements in air operations, both in more fuel-efficient practices and air traffic management, and the use of alternative fuels produced sustainably—all those things can make a contribution. The UK should be at the forefront of developing the new technologies that enable the aviation industry to thrive, while reducing emissions.

I again thank my hon. Friend for securing the debate. I hope that the Minister will feel able to respond positively and make up for the Government’s failure to date to provide an aviation strategy, which this country so badly needs.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe) on securing the debate, and on Rosie’s arrival. I would also like to associate myself with the comments made about the late Alan Keen and his sad, recent death. He had a long and distinguished record on aviation matters.

I agree wholeheartedly with the importance that hon. Members have attributed to the aviation industry as a strong part of our economy and a vital gateway to the global marketplace for business. Many hon. Members made that point, including the hon. Members for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer) and for Central Ayrshire. I also welcome the emphatic support for the aerospace industry provided by my hon. Friend the Member for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Jack Lopresti). Supporting and providing the right economic climate for manufacturing to flourish is a hugely important part of the Government’s overall economic strategy. It is crucial that aviation in the UK is able to grow and prosper in the future, but I think we are agreed that a dash for major aviation growth regardless of cost is not the right approach. That is why we are developing a new aviation strategy to set out the way forward that will allow the British air transport industry to grow in the years and decades ahead, as well as addressing its environmental and quality of life impacts. No one underestimates the scale of the challenge, because reducing harmful emissions through greener technologies is more complex in aviation than in other transport sectors and will take longer to deliver.

In response to the points made on air passenger duty, we have listened with care to industry concerns, which is why we have made it clear that switching to a flight tax is not viable without wider international support for such a move. We have postponed this year’s inflation-based increase in APD, and proposals for further reform of the tax will be published soon.

In response to the hon. Members for Central Ayrshire and for Blackley and Broughton on the issue of the Thames estuary airport, as the Prime Minister has said, the Government have no plans to build a new airport in the estuary, or in Medway or elsewhere in Kent. The hon. Member for Central Ayrshire outlined some of the practical issues that would have to be surmounted before such a programme could go ahead, including, of course, the very significant airspace capacity issues. Nor do we have plans to redevelop Northolt as a third runway for Heathrow.

I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Reading East (Mr Wilson) that surface access to airports is a crucial part of making them successful. That is why Crossrail and Thameslink are going ahead—both will improve access. We continue to consider other options for western access to Heathrow, including work that could be co-ordinated with the proposed HS2 spur to Heathrow.

We have made it clear that a key plank of the Government’s approach to aviation is the cancellation of Labour’s misguided plans for a third runway at Heathrow. I find it ironic that the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle), accuses us of having no policy, when the previous Government spent 13 years on an aviation White Paper that everyone agrees is no longer fit for purpose, and on pursuing a runway that is universally agreed to be absolutely the wrong approach for the UK economy. One of the coalition Government’s first acts was to cancel the third runway at Heathrow. I continue to believe that the price in terms of the environmental impact would have been far too high, given that noise already has a significant impact for thousands of people living with a plane overhead every 90 seconds. At the time, Labour described our position as

“politically opportunistic and economically illiterate”.

It seems that those on the shadow Front Bench have learned the error of their ways—but not all on their Back Benches.

We are clear that we need to protect and enhance the connectivity that is vital for our economy, which is why Heathrow’s success as one of the world’s busiest and most successful international airports is so vital. Our aviation strategy is designed to ensure that the UK maintains and improves the success of this leading international gateway. There is no evidence that Heathrow is about to lose its hub status. It remains an immensely successful airport, with more services to China than any of its European rivals, and a particularly strong connection with Hong Kong as China’s main hub airport. Our immediate priority is to make our airports work better within their existing capacity limits.

[Henry Smith]

I was delighted to welcome the Minister to Gatwick airport last month for the opening of new security gates. Will she congratulate Gatwick airport on the more than £1 billion of investment that it is making in enhancing capacity? Indeed, Sir John Major will open the renewed north terminal on Thursday.

[Mrs Villiers]

I am happy to offer my congratulations on that. Contrary to the allegation that the Government have created a policy vacuum, we have a range of initiatives designed to make our airports better—our priority is to make them better, rather than bigger. We are legislating for a much more passenger-focused system of regulation. We are improving air space management through the Future Airspace Strategy in the Single European Sky programme, which is already delivering real benefits in the UK and Ireland. We are changing the way aviation security is regulated to enable the industry to deliver the same high standards in security, but in a more passenger-focused and more hassle-free way.

Our south-east airport taskforce also included proposals to improve resilience and address delays. As a result, we are trialling the tactical use of greater operational freedoms at Heathrow. This is very sensitive, because those freedoms mean that occasionally there will be some incursions into the respite period, with occasional use of both runways for departures, or, occasionally, use of both runways for arrivals. However, I emphasise that that is not mixed mode and the Government remain committed to runway alternation and the benefits it brings. Very careful consideration will be given to the impact of the trial on local communities. I emphasise that the measures being trialled are to be used only to improve resilience, and prevent or recover from disruption, and not to increase capacity, which remains capped at current levels.

We have published our scoping document, setting out the issues to consider for the future of aviation. We know how crucial it is to have a successful regional airport sector, as hon. Members have highlighted today. We will look at ways to harness spare capacity to support economic growth and help to relieve crowding in the south-east. High-speed rail has strong potential to provide an alternative to thousands of domestic and short-haul flights. HS2 to Manchester and Leeds will deliver a three and a half hour journey time between London and Scottish destinations, providing a viable alternative to thousands of Scottish flights.