Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish the terms of reference to the consultation in respect of additional airport runway capacity in the South East; and which bodies they have invited to respond. [HL2756]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)Terms of reference for the South East and East of England Regional Air Services (SERAS) study were published, after public consultation, on 9 February. Copies are available from the House Libraries.
The commissioning of the SERAS study, and the consultation on the proposed appraisal framework to be used in that study, has resulted in a wide range of organisations making representations.
We are currently in the early stages of assessing options, at both existing airports and possible new sites. We will proceed through successive sifts to narrow down options to a final shortlist, on which there will be a full public consultation before Ministers come to decisions.
Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they support British Airways' proposals for a third runway at Heathrow submitted in response to a two-year government consultation programme. [HL2757]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonAs the then Minister for Transport announced on 11 March 1999, the South East and East of England Regional Air Services (SERAS) study will examine a wide range of options and has started from the position that nothing is ruled in and nothing is ruled out.
Options will be appraised through a process of successive sifts. A very large number of options will be considered during the sifting process, which is designed to reduce the options to a manageable number, so that those can be appraised in sufficient detail to support a meaningful public consultation at the end of the study.
Until then, it would be premature to comment on the status of any option.
Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How a consultation programme for additional runway capacity in the South East will be undertaken alongside the inquiry into Terminal 5 at Heathrow. [HL2758]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonIt is expected that the South East and East of England Regional Air Services study will be completed by spring or summer 2001. This will be followed by a public consultation on the options arising from it.
214WAThe results will feed into an Air Transport White Paper, which will also take account of the Government's decisions in response to the Inspector's report on the Heathrow Terminal 5 inquiry.