Regional Development Agencies: Airports

Robert Neill

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what payments each regional development agency has made to airports in the last 12 months; and for what purposes such payments were made in each case. (286679)

The following table shows RDA payments to airports in the last 12 months.

RDA	Payments to airports (£000)	Purpose
AWM	170	This relates to preliminary costs in respect of the project to extend the main runway at Birmingham International airport.

LDA	1,050	This was a payment made as part of a £1.6 million Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant to London City airport. The grant was a contribution to a wider £39.8 million project to construct additional apron over the north-west corner of the George V Dock, increasing stand space and providing an extra runway link.

ONE	416	This is comprised of: (a) four payments to Newcastle International airport to finance route development support to Copenhagen, Bergen and Krakow, as well as the cost of hiring a meeting room. (b) three payments to Durham Tees Valley airport for route development support to Warsaw as well as gap funding for economic development at the adjacent business park.

EEDA, EMDA, NWDA, SEEDA, SWRDA, and YF have recorded no payments to airports in the last 12 months.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much each regional development agency has spent on (a) airport infrastructure and (b) subsidies designed to increase levels of use of airports in each region in each year since 1997. (286717)

The following tables show expenditure by each RDA on airport infrastructure and subsidies designed to increase levels of use of airports in each region since 2003-04. The RDAs retain records of the last seven years. To provide records before this period will incur disproportionate costs.

*RDA Expenditure on airport infrastructure (£000)*¹
RDA	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
AWM	0	0	0	0	0	142	28
EEDA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
EMDA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
LDA	54	0	0	0	0	0	0
NWDA	0	0	0	850	1,600	2,000	0
ONE	622	895	12	1,589	498	224	1,280
SEEDA	0	150	0	0	0	0	0
SWRDA	1,200	1,500	75	1,159	0	0	0
YF	0	0	150	1,094	3,239	1,135	4,700
¹ Expenditure on airport infrastructure relates to any direct expenditure on airport buildings and equipment and has been invested within the airport's boundaries.

*Subsidies designed to increase levels of use of airports (£000)*¹
RDA	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
AWM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
EEDA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
EMDA	0	0	0	0	426	922	49
LDA	350	0	200	0	0	1,050	0
NWDA	0	0	0	0	277	1,318	139
ONE	0	0	0	92	345	205	100
SEEDA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
SWRDA	75	15	940	0	8,010	0	0
YF	0	0	50	0	0	0	0
¹ Subsidies designed to increase levels of use of airports relates to any expenditure aimed at increasing the use of or uptake of the airport and its facilities.

Volume 496: debated on Wednesday 9 September 2009