Recommendation 5

HM Government Not Addressed

This Government values the important role the aviation sector has in the UK, and recognises that maintaining a thriving and competitive aviation sector is of the upmost importance to the UK, delivering essential connectivity, supporting levelling up and strengthening the ties of our union. We share the committee’s view of the importance of considering in detail the future of the aviation sector in this country as we begin to build back from the pandemic. Our strategic framework will consider a wide range of issues including workforce and skills, domestic connectivity, noise innovation and regulation and consumer issues. We will also consider climate change and decarbonisation, as well as the critical role that the UK aviation sector plays in retaining this country’s global reach. The Government supports continued growth in aviation over the next 30 years, but we agree with the committee this growth must be sustainable, and that the aviation sector has an important role in helping to deliver the UK’s net zero commitments. In July 2021 we published the Jet Zero Consultation, outlining our vision for the aviation sector to reach net zero by 2050. The Jet Zero consultation closed on 8 September 2021, and we received over 1,300 responses. We continue to carefully consider consultation responses in the development of the final Jet Zero Strategy. We are aiming to publish the Jet Zero Strategy later this year. The Government also continues to support progress towards low and Zero Emission aircraft technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme. The recent Spending Review has extended our commitment to co-invest in aerospace by guaranteeing R&D funding for the ATI Programme to 2031. In March it was announced that the Government will provide £685m of funding to the ATI Programme over the next three years, an increase of £235m over the previous three years. We are also aiming to build a world-leading sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry. Our ambition is to enable delivery of 10% SAF by 2030. On top of existing programmes and support, we will provide £180 million to support industry to accelerate the commercialisation of SAF plants and fuel testing in the UK. Our analysis suggests that by focusing on these new fuels and technology, the aviation sector can achieve Jet Zero targets without the Government needing to intervene directly to limit aviation growth or cap demand. We are continuing to engage with stakeholders on next steps as we develop the final Strategy. We welcome the committee’s recognition of key role airports have in delivering connectivity to the communities they serve and our forthcoming Strategic Framework will explore how we can ensure the UK has the domestic connectivity necessary to deliver on the Government’s union connectivity and levelling up objectives. The Government has already introduced a package of APD reforms that will bolster air connectivity within the Union with a 50% cut in domestic APD, which will particularly benefit regional airports who tend to account for a greater proportion of domestic flights. To help protect important routes for communities that were in danger of being lost the Government currently jointly funds three public service obligations (PSO) routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Londonderry. We will consider whether there are further opportunities to utilise PSOs alongside other policy measures, towards meeting our ongoing regional connectivity objectives and protecting air routes. We welcome Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review, which was published in November 2021 and considers all of the main modes of transport including air routes, and we are carefully considering how we can best take them forward. Finally, the Government agrees with the committee that the Airspace Modernisation Programme is a critical national infrastructure project, that will help deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys and we have recently announced a further £3.7 million of funding for the programme which follows on from the to the £5.5m support package in 2021. However, it is a long-standing policy that air passengers should fund the cost of their travel, including the costs of changes to airspace structure, rather than being subsidised by the taxpayer. The funding packages were provided on an exceptional basis to assist the sector to resume progress on this crucially important project during the pandemic. This funding was agreed on the condition that sponsors would fund the rest of the programme under the user pays principle. As the sector continues its recovery sponsors of the programme are expected to resume responsibility for funding further stages of the programme.