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Civil Aviation Bill

The hon. Members for Richmond Park (Susan Kramer) and for Windsor have already tried to argue that the Bill automatically means an increase, but I am trying to make it clear that our proposals are the best way forward to achieve a balance between flights, the economy and, of course, the social and environmental consequences. I understand the argument for automatically assuming an increase, but we must take account of what happens. The Secretary of State at the time will examine the position, and I stress the fact that changes can be made to the quotas and so on as time goes on. However, there is a difference between the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), other hon. Members and me about that. Let me go into a little more detail about the number of movements, overall noise and how that influences disturbances, which hon. Members have raised. Some stakeholders argue in favour of movement limits and against setting night restrictions by referring to overall noise, because each instance of an aircraft flying overhead disturbs someone. The hon. Member for Canterbury made that point earlier when we considered low frequency noise. Reaction varies, and it is suggested that it may be better to consider individual flights rather than cumulative noise over a period. Reactions to noise are subjective and therefore vary greatly from person to person and from time to time. Sleep disturbance is no exception. Despite extensive research, views differ both among those who suffer from noise and among the scientific community about whether a single loud noise or event, or an accumulation of smaller noises and events, cause more disturbance. I accept that the matter is subjective, but there is discussion and argument about it.