To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of whether the air quality changes arising from expansion at Heathrow Airport will require the National Policy Statement to be revised.

The Department for Transport has assessed the effects of the Government’s 2017 UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, and updated aviation demand forecasts, on the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme’s compliance with air quality limit values.

This analysis has informed the Government’s view that the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme can be delivered in compliance with air quality obligations, with a suitable package of policy and mitigation measures.

The Department has not seen any further evidence to date which leads the Government to review its position. Following the designation of the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), it is now down to an applicant for development consent to undertake a detailed assessment of the air quality effects of the scheme, including during construction, and to put forward to the Planning Inspectorate an appropriate package of mitigations that address air quality effects and demonstrate compliance with air quality obligations.

In order to grant development consent, the Secretary of State would need to be satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal obligations.