Speeches by Alexander.

“Modernising UK airspace is a terrifically complicated 3D jigsaw puzzle. That the Chancellor announced the UK Airspace Design Service a couple of months ago and the support fund is a really positive thing to try to have a more integrated and co-ordinated approach. I expect that service to be looking at all forms of tech…”

“Of course there will always be risks with new technology, but there are also great opportunities. When it comes to airport expansion and the climate, I often think about the fact that I do not have children but I have nieces and nephews and I want them to have the experiences that I have had in my life, to be able to t…”

“Buses to airports comes back to what the local transport authority is doing properly to plan the bus service in its area. One thing we are doing through the bus services Bill is giving more opportunities to local authorities to go down the franchising route quickly, the enhanced bus partnerships. I expect good local tr…”

“Within hours of that fire starting, I had a direct phone call with the chief executive of Heathrow airport. I understand he came and gave evidence to this Committee. He talked about the resilience plans that the airport itself has in place. I was confident that there was a team at Heathrow who were prioritising safety,…”

“Much of the UK’s transport infrastructure is operated privately. It is important, especially when it comes to critically important national infrastructure, that the Government work with the operators of that infrastructure to prepare for and try to prevent disruption. There is a lot of close working that goes on betwee…”

“The Aviation Minister, Mike Kane, has a programme of engagement with all the airports. He is very diligent and hardworking. I have spoken to a huge number of airports myself, as well as the airlines. In change there will always be pluses and minuses. If you are flying further to a European hub airport to then get a con…”

“I have to be mindful about the work that I am asking the Department to do, to be honest. The Government have invited proposals for a third runway for Heathrow, and we have made a commitment to reviewing the airports national policy statement. That is a really big and important piece of work. At the point when I walked …”

“I have probably addressed that point in one of the points I have already made about the way in which airlines often cross-subsidise some of the less profitable regional links through having the ability to fly more long-haul routes. The charges that the airport applies to airlines are regulated by the CAA, as you know. …”

“Despite the pandemic, capacity at both Heathrow and Gatwick is almost running at its limit at the moment, to be honest. Last year was Heathrow’s busiest-ever year and demand is expected to continue to increase there. If we do not address the issue about capacity constraints at Heathrow, we risk losing out to other inte…”

“I should be clear about the fact that there is no live planning application at the moment. I cannot give you a definitive answer because I do not have a planning application in front of me. My role as the planning decision maker on airport expansion plans is to look at the economic benefits that expansion can bring and…”

“There isn’t a document called “The Aviation Strategy”. If I was persuaded that such a strategy would be useful to the sector, I would consider publishing one. We have been focused on some of the key challenges that the aviation and airport sector have been speaking to us about, namely taking decisions on the planning a…”

“Yes. There are two reviews. There is the NESO review that has been commissioned by the Energy Secretary and the review that Heathrow themselves have commissioned, led by their independent board member, Ruth Kelly. I understand that is due to come back in March. We are in discussions with Heathrow about them sharing tha…”

“We will support airport expansion when it delivers economic growth, where it delivers jobs, where it improves the passenger experience, and where that airport expansion is in line with our legally binding environmental obligations, be that on carbon, on noise or on air quality. We are committed to securing the long-ter…”

“You make a very fair point. It is the point that I was seeking to make in response to Catherine’s question. You can make targeted enhancements to stations where there is particularly high usage, I suggest, but you have to prioritise that investment pipeline because the scale of the rail network is such that, with the b…”

“Yes, albeit that the point I made to start off with still stands. Even if you have level boarding on new trains, the physical infrastructure of the platforms at some stations on the routes that those trains will be using will mean that, some of the time, not all of the stations are fully accessible.”

“This is a very thorny issue to sort out. I spent a lot of time working on the Elizabeth line in London. While you have a level platform-to-train access in the central section of the Elizabeth line, where the platforms and the stations were constructed completely brand-new, on some of the other platforms on the outer li…”

“Yes.”

“We are looking at strengthening the consumer enforcement powers of the CAA. We have committed to doing that. We are looking for legislative opportunities in both the current Session and future Sessions of Parliament. At the moment, as I understand it, the CAA has a mixture of consumer enforcement powers. Some of them a…”

“We need to work out what approach we would like to take—whether it is one that is perhaps more limited and involves secondary legislation, or whether it is more extensive and might involve primary legislation. We would need to look through how we might then work that into our broader programme. It is something that I k…”

“I definitely am.”