Policy paper

Statement of approach by ministers and officials dealing with the review of the Airports National Policy Statement

Published 25 November 2025

Foreword

Further to the government inviting proposals for a third runway at Heathrow and committing to a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), proposals received were assessed against a set of published criteria over the summer (2025). A review of the ANPS was subsequently launched on 22 October 2025. The review will reflect important changes in legislation, policy and data and set out how any proposed scheme will meet the government’s four tests.

The government also announced that 2 scheme proposals remained under active consideration and further information was requested from the scheme promoters to reach a final decision on which scheme would inform the remainder of the ANPS review.

The Secretary of State for Transport has decided that the scheme promoted by Heathrow Airport Limited will be taken forward to inform the ongoing ANPS review. Any consequential proposed amendment to the ANPS will be subject to public consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny as part of the statutory process for revising the ANPS before any decision is finally made on whether to amend the ANPS.

This document sets out the way in which ministers and officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) will engage with stakeholders, including scheme promoters, during the review process and any consultation that may be required as a result of the outcome of the review. This approach will apply until the end of the review process and the conclusion of any consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny of an amended ANPS.

The government recognises the importance of ensuring that a fair and transparent approach to stakeholder engagement is in place during the ANPS review. As part of the process to develop and consult on the existing ANPS, the government published stakeholder engagement statements of approach in 2016 and 2017 and this document continues that arrangement and approach for the ANPS review.

Statement of approach

The Planning Act 2008’s regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects plays an important role in ensuring the UK gets the infrastructure it needs without creating unacceptable impacts. Ministers who are responsible for reviewing a national policy statement, and where appropriate, recommend the outcome of the review to Parliament, must act and be seen to act fairly and even-handedly by bringing an unbiased, properly directed and independent mind to the consideration of the review.

With this in mind, the following statement outlines how ministers and officials in DfT will engage with stakeholders, including scheme promoters, during the ANPS review. The following arrangements apply while the ANPS review is ongoing, during any consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny of an amended ANPS, until such time as the review concludes and/or an updated ANPS is published by the Secretary of State for Transport.

During this time, DfT ministers will:

• not entertain privately made representations about the content of any amended ANPS, or consultation process, nor discuss the merits of any amended ANPS or consultation with any interested party, including scheme promoters
• not take part in a decision related to the ANPS review, including any amended ANPS, in which they have a private interest, and will record any constituency interest in the interests of transparency
• keep an open mind during the ANPS review and toward the contents of any draft amended ANPS, and conscientiously consider responses to any consultation before making a final decision

To make it clear that these principles are applied:

• within DfT, the team directly working on the ANPS review, any drafting of an amended ANPS and any consultation upon an amended ANPS will maintain separation from the team within DfT that will manage engagement with scheme promoters
• care will be taken where ministers may have, or might be perceived to have, a constituency interest in the ANPS review and development of any amended ANPS – which will be a matter of public record

Ongoing engagement with stakeholders

Applying these principles does not prevent all contact with organisations or individuals who have made representations or have an interest in the ANPS review. Ministers and officials will engage with stakeholders, including (but not limited to) local authorities, transport bodies, community groups and environmental stakeholders and will:

• meet with stakeholders to discuss the ANPS review process and any wider policy issues, and engage with other airport operators in relation to their operations, provided they understand that ministers and officials will not comment on the merits of content in any amended ANPS
• facilitate roundtables with a range of stakeholder groups to understand the views of a wide representation of parties that have an interest in the ANPS review, and discuss any early policy positions where appropriate and on the basis that no final decisions will be taken until any consultation is concluded
• engage with local authorities and the Greater London Authority about consultation and publicity requirements of any amended ANPS, as specified by the Planning Act 2008
• continue, so far as is proper, to facilitate progress on aspects of the delivery of the third runway scheme, but always on the understanding that this does not prejudice the outcome of the ANPS review and any amended ANPS
• if necessary, express a view on matters relevant to the delivery of a third runway at Heathrow, provided that such views are, and can properly be expressed, without prejudicing any conclusions on the ANPS review

Engaging with promoters

Our approach is to ensure equal treatment of promoters, recognising that even with a scheme informing the ongoing review of the ANPS, any promoter could seek to submit proposals for development consent. Where promoters are known to the department, they will receive the same information.

Ministers and officials will continue to engage with promoters during the ANPS review and any consultation process, and up to the point of any amended ANPS being published. During this time, so that the development of the ANPS review and any amended ANPS takes place transparently, the following principles will apply:

• the government will not, under any circumstances, share information relating to the content of or consultation on any amended ANPS in the course of engagement with promoters, other than where that information has already been released into the public domain
• within DfT, the team directly working on the ANPS review and any consultation on and development of an amended ANPS, will maintain an appropriate degree of separation from colleagues engaging with promoters
• a record of discussions between the ministers and officials who are engaging with promoters, and those officials in the ANPS review team, will be maintained where discussions relate to the ANPS review process and content of any amended ANPS
• where ministers and officials continue to meet with the scheme promoters to develop the best possible package of measures for the UK and to mitigate the impacts on local people, such engagement will be recorded in writing

Any consultation on an amended ANPS would be undertaken in line with the Cabinet Office consultation principles.