Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 30 November (HL Deb, col 931–3) about the non-devolution of the long-haul element of air passenger duty to Wales, how they differentiate between Edinburgh and Newcastle, and Cardiff and Bristol with respect to state aid.

As set out in the St David’s Day Agreement, the government is considering the case and options for devolving powers to the Welsh Assembly over air passenger duty (APD). Any next steps pursued by the government will comply with EU State aid rules on tax devolution.

Discussion of State aid is relevant to options we are considering to mitigate the effects of APD devolution with respect to English airports. In July, the government published a discussion paper on several options to do this. We will respond to the consultation and announce next steps in due course.