Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of enforcing aviation companies to sign up to binding commitments to help deliver the Government's target of net zero emissions by 2050 when disbursing Government funding to support aviation companies during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government continues to take its environmental responsibilities very seriously and is committed to meeting its climate change targets.

In the Chancellor’s letter to the aviation sector at the start of the pandemic, he made it clear that the government would consider bespoke financial support for firms as a last resort, once all other options had been exhausted. This means firms must have exhausted the comprehensive package of economy-wide measures we have put in place and all other funding options, including with shareholders and commercial debt providers. In order to protect the interests of taxpayers, any support would need to represent value for money. Companies receiving such support would also need to agree to appropriate conditions, including conditions relating to climate change, as well as tax, supplier payment terms, and corporate governance.