ACAP REPORT: ECONOMIC GROWTH ESTIMATES

HL Deb 29 January 1980 vol 404 cc833-4WA

Lord VAIZEY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the estimates of economic growth for the United Kingdom and other countries in the EEC contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Airports Policy, December 1979, Appendix III, Annex I, are the current estimates in use throughout Whitehall.

Lord TREFGARNE

The air traffic forecasts contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Airports Policy (ACAP) reflected opinion both inside and outside Whitehall during the first half of 1979, when the forecasts were being prepared. These assumptions are some what more optimistic than current views; However tests were carried out to assess the sensitivity of the air traffic forecasts to more pessimistic assumptions and the results were taken into account by the ACAP in its conclusions and recommendations.