Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support and encourage aviation companies to research and develop new aircraft and engine technologies to reduce noise emissions.

The Department provides strong support for the UK aerospace sector through the Aerospace Growth Partnership. As part of this we have created a more certain environment to drive increased investment in R&D, through a £1.95billion Government commitment over 13 years to 2026, matched by industry, to fund new R&D projects. This funding, guided by the Aerospace Technology Institute, supports investment in new technologies to reduce aircraft noise.

A large proportion of the 206 projects contracted so far, worth over £1.8billion, are concerned with new technologies to reduce noise from aircraft engines, propellers, rotors, wings and landing gear.

These projects are focused on delivering demanding international noise reduction goals and ensure UK aerospace companies are leading the technological evolution to achieve these.