Speeches by Blake.

“To follow up quickly on that, do you feel that the law and rules around planning give you enough tools to be able to do that adequately?”

“How can you guarantee that climate and environment are properly factored in in that case?”

“That is a very helpful example. Thank you. Finally, on the cumulative impact, we are not just talking about one airport expansion here. There could be a number. Is there any factoring in of the climate and environment impacts into whether expansion should go ahead based on an overall assessment of all airports, or is i…”

“Minister, we have heard a lot of evidence laced with a healthy amount of scepticism about the sector’s ability to achieve targets on emissions up to 2050. The sector is not on track, and there is a poor record of delivery on targets. How confident are you that the ambitious targets that have been set will be delivered …”

“Is that the only kind of offset that you are looking for from other Departments?”

“Is that framework robust enough that if, say, five applications came at once, they would all be considered in the round, or would that mean that the full picture would not be there?”

“You will.”

“Will there have to be the equivalent of cost-shunting for carbon within the Department to make this all balance, if you are not projected to meet your targets?”

“If you cannot meet the target within the Department, what happens at that point?”

“That is very helpful. What I am trying to get at is where DESNZ comes into this if DFT fails to meet the targets. Where does the responsibility sit in your Department to make sure that DFT is delivering? If it is not, how does that escalate up to the Secretary of State?”

“That is a very helpful example. Thank you. Finally, on the cumulative impact, we are not just talking about one airport expansion here. There could be a number. Is there any factoring in of the climate and environment impacts into whether expansion should go ahead based on an overall assessment of all airports, or is i…”

“To follow up quickly on that, do you feel that the law and rules around planning give you enough tools to be able to do that adequately?”

“Is that framework robust enough that if, say, five applications came at once, they would all be considered in the round, or would that mean that the full picture would not be there?”

“Ms Donkin, how is the impact of airport expansion on the climate and environment factored into the current planning system, and is it adequate?”

“It sounds like, on a project-by-project basis, the outcome could be very different depending on the project.”

“It would be remiss of me not to mention Doncaster Sheffield. Doncaster Sheffield is not currently open. I was intrigued by the claims around the best ever months for Manchester and other places. Is that displacement because of some of these closures and some of the struggles that I know other regional airports are havi…”

“How can you guarantee that climate and environment are properly factored in in that case?”

“Ms Donkin, how is the impact of airport expansion on the climate and environment factored into the current planning system, and is it adequate?”

“Do you think that there is the right level of weight given to these factors about whether expansion is approved compared to others, such as economic factors? Do you think that there could be a strengthening of that?”

“You will.”