§ Mr. BowisTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the findings of the research commissioned in 1990 as to how aircraft noise affects people's sleep will be made available.
§ Mr. NorrisMy noble Friend Lord Caithness has received a report on the field study into aircraft noise and sleep disturbance which describes the study and its results. This is published today by the Department of Transport. Copies will be placed in the House libraries.
This has been one of the most comprehensive studies of the subject carried out anywhere in the world. The research has been carried out by teams led by Professor J. A. Horne, Loughborough University of Technology; Dr. K. I. Hume, Manchester Metropolitan University; and Professor I. D. Diamond, University of Southampton; under the overall direction of Dr. J. B. Ollerhead of the Civil Aviation Authority's Department of Safety, Environment and Engineering. I am grateful for the effort and expertise which they have devoted to this study.
People vary greatly in how they react to noise. This is true also of the effect of aircraft noise on people's sleep. However, one of the conclusions of this study is that, once asleep, very few people living near airports are at risk of any substantial sleep disturbance due to aircraft noise.