asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether, in view of the submission of the British Airports Authority to the public inquiry into the fourth terminal at Heathrow, he will now revise the forecasts of international and domestic passenger demand at London area airports which were published in the White Paper on Airports Policy, Command Paper No. 7084; and if he will make a statement.

The forecasts of passenger demand in the White Paper on airports policy do not differ substantially from those of the British Airports Authority, and I do not propose to revise them. However, they will be closely monitored and the assumptions and methodology kept under review, in the context of the formal structure which is being established to advise on future airport policy.