Select committee: Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 14
5th Report - Airport expansion and climate and nature targets
Published 24 Oct 2025
Environmental Audit Committee Airport expansion and climate and nature targets All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Government must publish an impact assessment of its airspace modernisation work in regard to how it will change noise impacts as well as publish a map which allows people to see where the noise of aircraft is likely to exceed the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended levels. Where this work introduces noise pollution to new areas, the Government must expand its mitigation work including the requirement of industry funding for measures to decrease the impact on the population who live in the areas affected, such as improved sound insulation. This should be done alongside publication of the updated ANPS so that it can inform scrutiny of the Government’s proposals. We also express concern about the impact on biodiversity. The Government should undertake an impact assessment on the impact on biodiversity and put mitigations in place. (Recommendation, Paragraph 61) 44
From: Environmental Audit Committee, 5th Report - Airport expansion and climate and nature targets (HC 831), 24 October 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 12 January 2026 (deadline 24 December 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government's response largely points to its ongoing review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), with any proposed amendments to be consulted on in summer 2026, while setting out its existing carbon pricing and sustainable aviation fuel measures.
- On economic analysis, the Department for Transport (DfT) will develop updated analysis of the economic impacts of Heathrow expansion, with outputs published alongside any ANPS amendments for consultation "by summer 2026".
- On air quality and noise, the Government says mitigations "will be determined as part of the review process", with any amendments to the existing ANPS subject to consultation in summer 2026.
- On including international aviation emissions in carbon budgets, the Government says that, "subject to the allowances of parliamentary time", it "intends to lay the relevant legislation by summer 2026".
- On the Committee's request for a six-month contrail consultation and accounting for non-CO2 effects, the Government points to significant uncertainty about non-CO2 impacts and its research programme, with contrail findings to be published "in due course".