Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at what stage of the construction of a third runway at Heathrow he plans to assess whether legal air pollution limits can be met; and when he plans to make that assessment.

The Government has published a number of reports which have assessed the effect of the Heathrow Northwest Runway Scheme on compliance with air quality limits. Its latest air quality analysis for the scheme was published in October 2017 and demonstrates that, given the measures set out in the latest Air Quality Plan, the scheme would not affect the UK’s compliance with air quality limits. This analysis does not take into account scheme-specific mitigations that any applicant could take forward to address its air quality impact.

The proposed Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) is clear that development consent will only be granted if the Secretary of State is satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme will be compliant with legal obligations on air quality.

Detailed conditions associated with the construction and operation of the Heathrow Northwest Runway Scheme, including the details of any enforcement or monitoring regime on air quality, would be determined through the planning process, in consultation with local communities and relevant stakeholders.