0:00:31 > 0:00:38My Lords, can I start by giving the apologies for my noble friend the
0:00:38 > 0:00:46minister who is under a three line mother whip today. Who is at the
0:00:46 > 0:00:51palace receiving an honour and there was no way my noble friend was going
0:00:51 > 0:00:56to miss that day. Noble friend and I welcome this debate on the
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Government's revised draft airports national policy statement. And from
0:00:59 > 0:01:06now on I will refer to the abbreviation NPS. It might be
0:01:06 > 0:01:11helpful to put the debate in context in terms of the process the
0:01:11 > 0:01:16Government has followed to date. The commission reported in July 2015 and
0:01:16 > 0:01:21following detailed consideration of their findings, and further work,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25the Government announced its preference for the Heathrow North
0:01:25 > 0:01:32West runway scheme in October 2016. Since then, we have published a
0:01:32 > 0:01:38draft airports NPS and conducted two periods of consultation, receiving
0:01:38 > 0:01:42over 80,000 responses in total. And we are now carefully considering the
0:01:42 > 0:01:49responses. It is worth reemphasising that we are still in a period of
0:01:49 > 0:01:52consideration following public consultation and no final decisions
0:01:52 > 0:01:59on the airport's NPS have been taken. Should Government decide to
0:01:59 > 0:02:03proceed, any proposed airports NPS would be laid before Parliament and
0:02:03 > 0:02:09an opportunity provided for both debate in both Houses. So my Lords
0:02:09 > 0:02:15what is the purpose of NPS? The concept was introduced by the
0:02:15 > 0:02:21planning Act in 2008 enacted after the Heathrow Terminal 5 inquiry
0:02:21 > 0:02:27which lasted four years. The draft airports NPS has a specific purpose,
0:02:27 > 0:02:36if it is adopted it would provide planning guidance for the promotor
0:02:36 > 0:02:42of the additional runway and establishes clear policies by way an
0:02:42 > 0:02:46application for development consent to the additional runway would be
0:02:46 > 0:02:55decided. It might be also help ffl ful if I say what it does not do. It
0:02:55 > 0:03:01does not give permission for a new runway. It would require public
0:03:01 > 0:03:05examination of the proposals in the light of the policies set out in the
0:03:05 > 0:03:12NPS. It is then the role of the Secretary of State, taking into
0:03:12 > 0:03:15account the advice of planning inspectorate, to determine whether
0:03:15 > 0:03:21or not to grant develop tment consent. Clearly there is need for
0:03:21 > 0:03:26expansion. The UK has the third largest aviation sector in the
0:03:26 > 0:03:32world. Second only to the United States and China. Contributing more
0:03:32 > 0:03:46than 22 billion to UK GDP. In 2016. 2 .5 million tonnes of freight were
0:03:46 > 0:03:51handled. Our airports continue to grow their business with more
0:03:51 > 0:03:55passengers passing through their doors each year. Heathrow is the
0:03:55 > 0:04:00busiest two runway airport in the world and evidence shows that unless
0:04:00 > 0:04:05we take action, all five of London's main airports will be full by the
0:04:05 > 0:04:11mid 2030s. Let me set out why a new north-west runway is the
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Government's preference for additional capacity. Our analysis
0:04:15 > 0:04:21shows that new north-west runway would deliver benefits of up to 74
0:04:21 > 0:04:28billion to passengers and the wider economy over 60 years. Of the short
0:04:28 > 0:04:32listed schemes assessed, the north-west runway scheme delivers
0:04:32 > 0:04:39the greatest benefits soonest and expanded Heathrow would offer the
0:04:39 > 0:04:45greatest choice on long haul routes. It would secure our status as a
0:04:45 > 0:04:49global aviation hub and advance our ability to compete with other
0:04:49 > 0:04:54European and other airports. It would provide new domestic
0:04:54 > 0:05:02connections, moving from eight to 14 domestic routes and greater
0:05:02 > 0:05:10frequency. I mentioned freight and Heathrow handles more freight than
0:05:10 > 0:05:16all other UK airports combined. It has superior connections to the rest
0:05:16 > 0:05:24of the UK through road and rail and flights. Expansion is also expected
0:05:24 > 0:05:35to generate up to 114,000 additional jobs. I want to emphasise the draft
0:05:35 > 0:05:40NPS makes clear that expansion would only be allowed to proceed if
0:05:40 > 0:05:46accompanied by world class package of compensation along with
0:05:46 > 0:05:50mitigation measures. Let me without going through all these measures
0:05:50 > 0:05:57just give a flavour of some of the proposals. Community compensation,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01the proposed package includes above statutory level of compensation for
0:06:01 > 0:06:10property owners. Heathrow Airport limited have pledged home owners in
0:06:10 > 0:06:15compulsory and voluntary purchase zones would receive 125% of market
0:06:15 > 0:06:24value. The airport have pledged in excess of 700 million to noise
0:06:24 > 0:06:31insulate properties. Providing a contribution of £3,000 for
0:06:31 > 0:06:40qualifying homes further from the airport. They have promised to set
0:06:40 > 0:06:46aside money for school buildings. It requires the creation of a community
0:06:46 > 0:06:52compensation fund worth up to 50 million a year to benefit local
0:06:52 > 0:06:56communities. Moving on to environmental mitigation. For
0:06:56 > 0:07:00communities around Heathrow, noise is the major concern and under the
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Government's draft proposals the scheme promoter would be expected to
0:07:04 > 0:07:09deliver a number of mitigating measures to reduce the impact of
0:07:09 > 0:07:16noise. Initial to the comprehensive noise insulation package it will
0:07:16 > 0:07:21include a 6.5 hour man on night flights. This ban would help address
0:07:21 > 0:07:27noise from early morning arrivals, one of the most frequently expressed
0:07:27 > 0:07:38concerns. Expansion would result in more reliable periods of respite.
0:07:38 > 0:07:44The draft NPS says the government expects noise to limit and reduce
0:07:44 > 0:07:51the impact of aircraft noise. Turning to air quality, the
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Government have made clear that expansion would only be allowed to
0:07:55 > 0:08:00go ahead if it could delivered in compliance with legal obligations on
0:08:00 > 0:08:06air quality. It is the Government's view, based on expert analysis, that
0:08:06 > 0:08:14the Heathrow north-west scheme can be delivered in compliance with the
0:08:14 > 0:08:18obligations. Importantly this analysis does not take account of
0:08:18 > 0:08:23any of the additional measures the scheme promoter would take to
0:08:23 > 0:08:31address emissions. For example the NPS proposes a public transport mode
0:08:31 > 0:08:37share of at least 50% by 2030 and Heathrow has a plan to consider a
0:08:37 > 0:08:43low emission zone. The Government also considered the impact of the
0:08:43 > 0:08:47demand forecast on carbon emissions. Our analysis provides further
0:08:47 > 0:08:54support for the airports commission's assessment that any of
0:08:54 > 0:08:58the three schemes including Heathrow north-west would be delivered within
0:08:58 > 0:09:05our obligations under the climate change Act. I appreciate that there
0:09:05 > 0:09:09are many views on airport expansion and we look forward to hearing these
0:09:09 > 0:09:15views and I beg to move.
0:09:22 > 0:09:29SUBTITLES WILL RESUME AT 11PM.