Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 19 April (HL Deb, col 1639), what assessment they have made of the need to review the (1) National Policy Statement for Ports, and (2) National Policy Statement for National Networks, to bring them into line with (a) domestic, and (b) international, (i) climate, and (ii) biodiversity, targets.

As noted in the Freeports Bidding Prospectus, Government intends to review the National Policy Statement for Ports in 2021. In deciding when to review the NPS, due consideration will be given to the impact of changes in policy of both climate and biodiversity targets.

The case for reviewing the National Networks National Policy Statement remains under active consideration as part of the Secretary of State’s duties under the Planning Act 2008. Developments in domestic environmental policy and our international commitments, are assessed against the three considerations the Secretary of State must take into account in deciding whether to review an NPS set out in section 6 of the Act.