Asked by: Baroness Nye (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to cut off revenue, arms and equipment to the Burmese military.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Since 2021, the UK Government has enacted 19 sanctions packages, including 10 individual sanctions targeting the import of aviation fuel into Myanmar. We have also sanctioned 25 individuals and 39 entities targeting the regime's access to finance, arms and equipment, none of which is Chinese. We keep all evidence and potential designations under close review. It would not be appropriate to speculate about potential future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether future revenues generated from Sustainable Aviation Fuel mandate buy-out penalties will be spent on aviation sector decarbonisation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The SAF mandate, which started in January this year, includes ambitious but deliverable targets to supply sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Suppliers are expected to meet targets in the SAF mandate without the need to buyout. The buyout is not a revenue raising measure, and the buyout price is set at a level to ensure that unsustainable costs are not passed on to passengers.
The SAF mandate generates demand, but we are also supporting SAF supply. Including through the Advanced Fuels Fund, which for the current year has allocated £63 million, and the creation of a UK SAF Clearing House to provide advice and support to SAF producers navigating the fuel testing landscape. This is helping to remove barriers to new fuels coming to market. The Government has also introduced legislation for a Revenue Certainty Mechanism to increase investor confidence and unlock investment in UK SAF production.
In addition to our considerable commitments on SAF, we are supporting the sector to transition to greener aviation through a range of measures, including delivering the airspace modernisation programme, which will see cleaner, quicker and quieter journeys, and major funding for new technologies through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase business rates on (a) airports and (b) airport operators; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of such an increase on regional airport (i) viability and (ii) connectivity.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) conducts analysis of changes in rateable value to prepare for regular revaluations. The VOA is currently working on a revaluation of all non-domestic properties, which will come into effect on 1 April 2026. For the upcoming 2026 revaluation, as with other revaluations, the VOA is receiving ongoing representations from the airport sector.
The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.
We are fully committed to supporting the aviation industry. The sector is vital to our future as a global trading nation and will play an important role in local economies.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what pilot programmes and trials of the use of drone technology in healthcare are either planned or have already been initiated.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics. Further information on the work ongoing across the Government is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.
The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLOS drone use cases for the National Health Service. Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and the Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.
The Department of Health and Social Care has not conducted a formal cost-effectiveness assessment of drone versus traditional delivery methods. Outside of trials, drones are not currently integrated into NHS logistics or emergency response frameworks.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost savings that the use of drone technology could deliver to the healthcare sector.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics. Further information on the work ongoing across the Government is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.
The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLOS drone use cases for the National Health Service. Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and the Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.
The Department of Health and Social Care has not conducted a formal cost-effectiveness assessment of drone versus traditional delivery methods. Outside of trials, drones are not currently integrated into NHS logistics or emergency response frameworks.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to extend beyond visual line of sight drone trials in the healthcare sector.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across the Government, including between the Department and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics. Further information on the work ongoing across the Government is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
The Department continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials to further build this evidence base, in particular regarding the benefits of the use of drones to deliver urgent medical supplies in remote and urban areas.
The Future of Flight Programme, led by the Department for Transport and taking place across the Government, will deliver routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone use in the United Kingdom by 2027. As part of this programme the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care, and the CAA continue to work closely together to unlock BVLOS drone use cases for the National Health Service. Enabling drones to safely operate to trial NHS services currently requires airspace segregation to ensure the safety of other crewed aircraft. This is a complex process, and the CAA and the Department for Transport are working to simplify it as part of the Future of Flight Programme and the Airspace Modernisation Strategy while we work towards full airspace integration. Progress on this work is monitored through the Future of Flight Industry Group which is co-chaired by the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security.
The Department of Health and Social Care has not conducted a formal cost-effectiveness assessment of drone versus traditional delivery methods. Outside of trials, drones are not currently integrated into NHS logistics or emergency response frameworks.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of permitting crop-based biofuels to be eligible under the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate on (a) the environment and (b) food security.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In August 2025 the Secretary of State for Transport confirmed that a call for evidence on the eligibility of crops in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate would be published by the end of this year. This followed a call for evidence on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).
Crops encompass a variety of feedstocks with different impacts. It is right that we gather up-to-date evidence and information on emerging developments, including on the sustainability risks associated with crop-based Sustainable Aviation Fuel and how regulation could mitigate these risks.
The call for evidence does not propose any changes to the SAF Mandate nor does it signal the future direction of the SAF Mandate; it is intended to support assessment of the potential impacts, including on the environment and food security, of crop-based biofuels by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of commercial airline pilots the UK will need to train each year to provide the workforce required (a) at current levels and (b) to meet anticipated levels of future demand.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the UK aviation sector operates predominantly in the private sector, it is for individual airlines to recruit and train pilots to meet today’s demand and the demand of the future. I therefore welcome the funded pilot training programmes that British Airways, TUI and Jet2.com have introduced, that will ensure a sustainable pipeline of future pilots.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49823 on Air Passenger Duty: Economic Growth, if she will estimate the potential impact of higher rates of Air Passenger Duty on the number of flights taken.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the March 2025 OBR forecast, passenger numbers are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in the coming year, and are expected to be around 10% higher than 2024-25 once the new APD rates are implemented in 2026-27. The expected passenger growth will only be slightly lower (less than one percentage point) than if rates were to increase in line forecast RPI, per the standard annual uprating.
The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of renegotiating the 1967 Outer Space Treaty to reflect current exploitation of the difference between (a) air and (b) space.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Outer Space Treaty (OST) is the cornerstone of international space law with all major space-faring nations being party to this treaty. The Treaty explicitly affirms that activities in the exploration and use of outer space must be carried out in accordance with international law, including the United Nations (UN) Charter. This includes the prohibition on the threat or use of force, which applies to States’ space activities, as it does to other domains. The Treaty also prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in outer space. The Treaty does not impose a formal distinction between air and outer space, and this has not impeded the UK’s ability to pursue its ambitious goals in both aviation and space.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to the Outer Space Treaty and the peaceful uses of outer space, ensuring space remains a safe, secure, and sustainable environment for future generations. Across government, there are efforts to strengthen governance of space more generally though the UN, including working through the UN Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and promoting norms rules and principles of responsible space behaviours to address threats to space systems.