§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grants are available to people living near to major airports towards the installation of double glazing; when this grant was last increased; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyExcept at Heathrow and Gatwick, noise insulation grants are a matter for the airport operator. We understand that several airports pay such grants.
The Government have designated Heathrow and Gatwick for noise insulation grants purposes and have made various noise insulation grant schemes. The most recent schemes for these airports which provided for grants to be paid by the British Airports Authority (as it was then) were introduced in 1980. The amounts payable were increased in 1981, and the schemes effectively ended in March 1985.
As promised in the 1985 airport policy White Paper (Cmnd. 9542) the schemes have been reviewed. The review suggested that there were small areas outside the scheme boundary at each airport which should be included retrospectively within the scheme. There should be no change to:
- the description of dwellings to which the scheme applied,
- the qualifications for eligibility,
- the specification for the work to be done,
- the residential qualification date.
Any additional grants would be paid, as before, by BAA plc. The amount of grant payable would be adjusted to current prices.
We are discussing with BAA plc the suggested small adjustment to the scheme boundaries and we shall make an announcement when these discussions are completed. We have no plans to introduce new schemes at these airports. We are committed to introducing a new scheme at Stansted when the airport reaches 2 million passengers per annum.