§ Mr. ColmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what work has been undertaken by the Government, as part of the developing aviation white paper process, on the possibility of extending designated airport status to other airports in the UK. [159528]
Mr. Robert AinsworthIn the integrated transport White Paper "A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone" the Government announced their intention to prepare a UK airports policy looking 30 years ahead and bring forward new policies on civil aviation. The extent to which Government should rely on regulation to influence the environmental effects of aviation, and whether there should be greater reliance on economic instruments and voluntary agreements, is among the issues examined in the Government's recent consultation document on air transport policy—"The Future of Aviation". The closing date for responses to that consultation was 12 April 2001 and they are presently being studied.