Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a legally binding noise envelope at Heathrow Airport; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Hayes
The revised draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) makes clear that any noise envelope at an expanded Heathrow should be tailored to local priorities and include clear noise performance targets. If the revised draft Airports NPS is designated, the design of any noise envelope would be defined in consultation with local communities and relevant stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will assess the potential merits of changing the boundaries at which communities affected by aircraft noise receive compensation.
Answered by John Hayes
Following its recent Airspace Policy consultation, the Department implemented changes to its policy on compensation for communities affected by noise as a result of airspace change. The Government will undertake additional consideration of this issue through the new aviation strategy it is currently developing.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Heathrow Airport on potential boundary changes to its Quieter Homes scheme.
Answered by John Hayes
There have been no discussions between the Department for Transport and Heathrow Airport on potential changes to Heathrow’s Quieter Homes scheme.
Whilst the Government sets the guidelines on when it expect airport operators to provide compensation to local communities, decision on how to apply the guidance are for the airport itself.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on air quality of the construction of a third runway at Heathrow.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government believes that the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme can be delivered without impacting on the UK’s compliance with air quality limit values, given the measures set out in the Government’s air quality plan, and with a suitable package of mitigation measures taken forward by the promoter.
Should the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement be designated, then it would be for the promoter to undertake a detailed assessment of the air quality impacts of the scheme, including during construction, and put forward to the Planning Inspectorate an appropriate package of mitigations that address air quality impacts and demonstrate compliance with air quality obligations.
In order to grant development consent, the Secretary of State would need to be satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal obligations.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on air quality of the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government believes that the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme can be delivered without impacting on the UK’s compliance with air quality limit values, given the measures set out in the Government’s air quality plan, and with a suitable package of mitigation measures taken forward by the promoter.
Should the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement be designated, then it would be for the promoter to undertake a detailed assessment of the air quality impacts of the scheme, including during construction, and put forward to the Planning Inspectorate an appropriate package of mitigations that address air quality impacts and demonstrate compliance with air quality obligations.
In order to grant development consent, the Secretary of State would need to be satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal obligations.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the measures required to keep aviation CO2 emissions to 37.5MegaTonnes in line with the modelling in the 4th and 5th carbon budgets.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government remains open to considering all feasible measures to ensure that the aviation sector contributes fairly to UK emissions reductions, and is committed to meeting its emissions reduction targets under the Climate Change Act.
There are a range of measures available to reduce carbon emissions from aviation, including biofuels, airspace reform and improvements in technology.
As mentioned in the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government will set out its strategic approach to the aviation sector in a series of consultations leading to the publication of a new Aviation Strategy for the UK.
The Strategy will consider what the best approach and combination of policy measures are to ensure we effectively address carbon emissions from aviation.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proposals he plans to put in place to mitigate the negative air quality effects of a third runway at Heathrow.
Answered by John Hayes
Should the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement be designated, then it would be for the promoter to undertake a detailed assessment of the air quality impacts of the scheme and put forward to the Planning Inspectorate an appropriate package of mitigations that address air quality impacts and demonstrate compliance with air quality obligations.
The precise package of mitigation measures would be subject to consultation with local communities to ensure that the most effective measures are taken forward.
Furthermore, in order to grant development consent, the Secretary of State would need to be satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal obligations.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to encourage taxi drivers to purchase new zero-emissions vehicles.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Plug in Taxi Grant (PITG) was announced in March 2017. This will provide support to taxi drivers purchasing new ultra low emission taxis of up to £7,500. The first eligible vehicles to be able to claim the PITG are expected to come to market shortly. We are keeping PITG support levels under review.
For private hire vehicles the existing Plug in Car Grant of up to £4,500 is already available to support the take up of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) used as taxis.
To provide further support for ULEV taxis the Government is supporting 10 local authorities with £14m of funding to install dedicated chargepoint infrastructure to encourage taxi drivers to purchase new zero emissions vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to increase the value of the plug-in taxi grant available to taxi drivers.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Plug in Taxi Grant (PITG) was announced in March 2017. This will provide support to taxi drivers purchasing new ultra low emission taxis of up to £7,500. The first eligible vehicles to be able to claim the PITG are expected to come to market shortly. We are keeping PITG support levels under review.
For private hire vehicles the existing Plug in Car Grant of up to £4,500 is already available to support the take up of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) used as taxis.
To provide further support for ULEV taxis the Government is supporting 10 local authorities with £14m of funding to install dedicated chargepoint infrastructure to encourage taxi drivers to purchase new zero emissions vehicles.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) remit and (b) powers he plans to give the Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise.
Answered by John Hayes
The Government consulted on proposals for an Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise as part of its UK Airspace Policy consultation. We intend to respond to the consultation in the autumn, outlining the Commission’s remit and powers.