Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic (a) costs and (b) benefits of an expansion of Heathrow Airport.

According to the most recent study from Frontier Economics, a third runway could increase potential GDP by 0.43% in by 2050 and could create over 100,000 jobs. Over half – 60% - of that GDP boost would go to areas outside London and South-East.

The exact cost of the runway is a matter for Heathrow, the Civil Aviation Authority and the airport’s customer airlines, and the Government has been clear that the scheme will be privately financed without Government support.

Our clear expectation is that any associated surface transport costs will be financed from private funding.