Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the remits of the (a) Airport Expansion & Aviation and Maritime Analysis Directorate and (b) Aviation Directorate are in relation to the Airports National Policy Statement.

The Airport Expansion & Aviation and Maritime Analysis Directorate is responsible for the policies set out in the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) which was designated on 26 June 2018. The Directorate will lead further work with Heathrow Airport Limited on their plans to deliver the Northwest Runway at Heathrow in accordance with the NPS. However, It will not be involved in decisions on any future applications for development consent, which will be handled by a separate team elsewhere in the Department to ensure propriety.

The Directorate also includes an expert multi-disciplinary analytical division which undertakes modelling and economic and statistical analysis for the Department on aviation and maritime issues. The Aviation Directorate has responsibility for aviation policy more generally, including (for example) airspace modernisation and the proposed Aviation Strategy. Both directorates have regard to where the work of one may affects the other.