HC Deb 20 July 1998 vol 316 cc372-3W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what work(a) his Department and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority are carrying out to assess the possibility of (i) RAF Northolt and (ii) Redhill Aerodrome being used as feeder or reliever airports for Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. [51175]

Ms Glenda Jackson

Neither my Department nor the Civil Aviation Authority are carrying out work to assess the possibility of RAF Northolt or Redhill Aerodrome being used as feeder or reliever airports for Heathrow or Gatwick.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the working groups established by(a) his Department and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority to discuss airport capacity in the South East of England. [51190]

Ms Glenda Jackson

No working groups have been established for this purpose by either my Department or the Civil Aviation Authority in the last few years.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of when Stansted Airport will become slot constrained. [51167]

Ms Glenda Jackson

Stansted Airport Ltd. notified the Department on 7 July that in its opinion conditions are such that Stansted Airport should be fully coordinated for slot allocation purposes under Article 3 of EC Regulation 95/93 with effect from Summer 1999. The Government will consider if the airport should be so designated following consultation with airlines and other relevant organisations on a capacity analysis in accordance with the Regulation.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what work BAA plc has carried out recently at his Department's request on a scheme for a close parallel runway at Gatwick. [51377]

Ms Glenda Jackson

BAA plc is not currently undertaking any work at the request of my Department in relation to the possibility of developing a close parallel runway at Gatwick Airport. The work which the previous Administration asked BAA to undertake into this concept following publication of the report on Runway Capacity in the South East (RUCATSE) is not yet complete. We have asked BAA to put the work on hold so that we can consider how to take this issue forward in the light of the Integrated Transport White Paper.