Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government made of the relative net present values of the potential expansion of Gatwick and Heathrow Airports when making its decision on airport expansion in the South East.

The government published net present values (NPVs) for all three of the airport expansion options in Chapter 7 of the Further Review and Sensitivities Report.

The NPV is an important metric in the economic analysis, but does not capture all relevant evidence, for example other quantified impacts that are not included, such as the local jobs created and trade benefits, and non-monetised impacts. The economic analysis is part of a wider evidence base, which includes the consideration of commercial, financial, deliverability and strategic issues. Further information can be found in the Airport Commission’s Final Report.