Ruth Cadbury MP/Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP
Ruth Cadbury MP/Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP
Ruth Cadbury MP: I thank the Secretary of State for that answer, but during the airports national policy statement, the Government said that the aviation Green Paper would address the level of public subsidy required to support certain regional connections into Heathrow, but the Green Paper, now published, says that when there is such a requirement for a public services obligation route, “funding contributions should increasingly be provided locally.” Will he therefore confirm that many local councils that were hoping to reap economic benefits from additional regional routes may in fact end up having to subsidise loss-making routes?
Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP: As the House will know, it is often custom and practice to share the cost of a public service obligation with a local authority. It is right and prudent for the Government to seek to share the load when we can