Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 307 of the Airports Commission Final Report, published in July 2015, what steps his Department is taking to assess options for a legislative process for permanently banning a fourth runway at Heathrow Airport.

The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. It is vitally important that we get this decision right.

The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work and it would not be appropriate to opine on the Commission’s scheme-specific recommendations before an announcement on its preference.