L

Lord Grayling (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 3 February 2025

Debate

Growing the UK Economy

Contribution

My Lords, I remind the House of my interests as an adviser to AtkinsRéalis. I was also the Secretary of State who introduced the last Government’s Airports National Policy Statement. The Minister has just said that he expects spades in the ground by the end of this Parliament. We are probably 12 to 18 months away from the new planning legislation so, for now, the Government have to go through an ANPS process. There are then likely to be judicial reviews, albeit curtailed as the Government intend, and then a DCO process. I asked the Transport Minister this afternoon whether he expected to be able to short-cut that process; he said he did not yet know and would not know until he saw detailed proposals from Heathrow in the summer. How can the Minister, and indeed the Chancellor, say they will get spades in the ground by the end of this Parliament? Those who have been through it before know that, unless the process changes, there is no possibility of that happening.

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