Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a (a) third runway at Heathrow airport and (b) second runway at Birmingham airport on the economy of (i) Wolverhampton and (ii) the West Midlands.

A Northwest Runway at Heathrow will improve the UK’s connectivity, with more frequent services to important global destinations benefitting passengers and freight-operators across the UK. While Heathrow expansion will help to secure the UK’s status as a global aviation hub, we will also see airports across the country continuing to develop their point-to-point networks.

This conclusion is supported by the analysis which shows that passenger numbers and international flights at airports outside of London are expected to increase by 80 per cent and 71 per cent respectively between 2016 and 2050 with a third runway at Heathrow.

Whilst the Department has not made an assessment of the effect on the local economy in Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, these areas are expected to benefit from the improvement in regional and global connectivity, which is expected to deliver up to £74 billion worth of benefits to passengers and the wider economy.

The Airports Commission found that whilst four out of London’s five main airports are expected to be full within the next ten years, airports outside the South East of England, such as Birmingham, have capacity to grow by increasing utilisation of their existing runway(s).

As the Secretary of State set out in his oral statement on 5 June, any new operational runway at Heathrow is still a number of years away. This is why Government supports airports beyond Heathrow making best use of their existing runways. However, we recognise that the development of airports can have positive and negative effects. We consider that any proposals should be judged on their individual merits by the relevant planning authority, taking careful account of all relevant considerations, particularly economic and environmental.