Became Member: 10th October 2019
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Davies of Gower, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
A Bill to make provision about the constitution of the Farriers Registration Council and its committees.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 27th April 2017 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision for regulating pedicabs in public places in Greater London; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to regulate the use of automated vehicles on roads and in other public places; and to make other provision in relation to vehicle automation.
Lord Davies of Gower has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The UK sought to negotiate a service access agreement on the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) with the EU. However, the EU required participation in the programme along with the full associated costs of participation, as per previous years, for continued access to the EGNOS Safety of Life service. For all programmes under consideration, the Government was clear it would only participate where the terms were in the UK’s interests, and in this case, it was not considered value for money.
Officials in the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority have been working with the aviation sector on understanding the impact and ensuring any available mitigations are put in place. The UK is also developing a national strategy for resilient position, navigation and timing through a dedicated programme of work which will consider the aviation sectors’ needs and requirements.
The negotiations on EGNOS concluded in December and given the clear position from the EU, there are no plans to reopen discussions on this matter.
The UK no longer participates in the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) programme.
The UK sought continued access to EGNOS services through the UK-EU trade negotiations. However, an agreement could not be reached as the EU demanded a significant financial contribution to secure those services.
Despite not being able to reach an agreement, we expect that UK users will continue to be able to utilise the freely available EGNOS Open Service, which is used for a range of different applications, including precision agriculture and personal navigation.
The UK is exploring alternatives to fulfil its needs for secure and resilient position, navigation and timing information through a dedicated programme of work led by the UK Space Agency.
The Government’s assessment is that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) means that as of 25 June 2021, airspace users will not be able to benefit from “localizer performance with vertical guidance” (LPV) procedures which offer 3-dimensional precision approaches. Where promulgated, airspace users will continue to be able to use lateral navigation (LNAV) procedures which offer 2-dimensional non-precision approaches.
The Government continues to explore options for mitigating the loss of the LPV capability.
The UK Government did seek to retain the use of EGNOS, but it was not possible to reach a satisfactory settlement with the EU in the 24 December 2020 agreement.
The Government recognises that airports are critical in enabling essential air services across the country and overseas, including getting Britons home from abroad, delivering essential supplies, and connecting isolated communities. We are working to make sure that a network of infrastructure remains in place across the UK to continue to deliver these services.
Measures announced by the Chancellor in recent days, including a scheme for firms to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills and financial support for employees, are available to the sector to draw upon during this period.
Ministers and officials at the DfT will continue to stay in close contact with the aviation sector, so that the Government is kept fully aware of the latest developments and understands where additional policy measures could address specific industry issues, and can therefore ensure UK nationals overseas are able to return home and that freight continues to flow in and out of the country
The aviation industry, including General Aviation, is in an increasingly difficult financial position with significantly reduced demand.
A number of measures to support the industry have already been announced, including Time to Pay support with taxes, financial support for employees. and the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF). The Government is working urgently to develop further measures, as necessary
HMRC is ready to provide guidance and support as appropriate to all businesses and self-employed individuals who are experiencing temporary financial difficulties due to Coronavirus.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with airlines and airports to consider the use of established flexibility within the regulatory framework to help manage and mitigate the impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak. It has also decided to delay the implementation of its recently proposed charge increases for three months to assist the UK aviation industry.
More widely, the Government is urgently considering additional options to provide support to the UK aviation industry. A number of measures which could support the sector have already been announced, including Time to Pay, financial support for employees, and the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF).
We recognise that the current situation is increasingly difficult for the transport sector and, across Government, we are engaging with the sector’s leadership to support workers, businesses and passengers
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) received 16 reports of denied airspace access using its Form FCS 1521 during the 12-month period from 1 February 2019 to 31 January 2020.
The government is aware of the genuine concerns of the general aviation community around access to controlled airspace.
In October 2019 the government amended the Air Navigation Directions 2017. This requires the CAA to carry out a review of the classification of airspace to ensure the amount of controlled airspace is the minimum necessary to maintain a high standard of air safety and reflects the needs of all airspace users on an equitable basis.
The UK has a proud history of leading innovation in aviation and the Department for Transport is working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure this continues.
The Government recognises that new forms of aircraft such as hybrid and all electric have the potential to create new air services and decarbonise some existing routes.
We are supporting the development and integration of this challenging technology through the Aerospace Sector Deal and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge.
Government and industry are jointly investing £300m in Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge. Through the Future Flight Challenge, consortia of industry and researchers will be supported to demonstrate the safe integration of electric and autonomous aircraft into UK airspace.
The UK has a proud history of leading innovation in aviation and the Department for Transport is working closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure this continues.
The Government recognises that new forms of aircraft such as hybrid and all electric have the potential to create new air services and decarbonise some existing routes.
We are supporting the development and integration of this challenging technology through the Aerospace Sector Deal and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge.
Government and industry are jointly investing £300m in Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge. Through the Future Flight Challenge, consortia of industry and researchers will be supported to demonstrate the safe integration of electric and autonomous aircraft into UK airspace.
My department, in collaboration with relevant parties in Wales, is progressing plans to boost connectivity and capacity for passengers across the south and west of Wales including a new West Wales Parkway station near Swansea. In December last year we received a study undertaken on behalf of the regional local authorities. We are currently assessing this, alongside previous work we have undertaken, to finalise proposals for a value-for-money railway enhancement scheme including a new station.
The aviation sector is important to the UK economy, and firms can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including schemes to raise capital and financial support for employees.
As Air Passenger Duty is paid on a per passenger basis, the recent decline in passenger demand will have resulted in a significant reduction in liability for airlines. HMRC are also ready to help businesses, including airlines and airports, in financial difficulty due to the coronavirus, through the Time to Pay Scheme.
The most recent available data published by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner reported that 17 Juvenile CHIS authorisations were approved across 11 public authorities during the four-year period between January 2015 to the end of 2018.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on offences of theft reported to and recorded by the police, but it is not possible to separately identify those involving theft of aircraft engines or avionics.
The Government is clear that the theft of aircraft parts, and other forms of acquisitive crime should be reported to the police so that they can be investigated appropriately. To help ensure that the police have the resources they need to do so, we are recruiting 20,000 officers over the next three years. £45 million has already been committed in 2019/20 to start the recruitment process and a further £750 million will be invested in 2020/21 to enable forces across England and Wales to recruit 6,000 additional officers by the end of March 2021. In addition, the Crown Prosecution Service is receiving an extra £85 million to ensure the criminal justice system can support the work of these extra officers.
The UK Flight Information Region airspace is neither specifically military or civilian. The Joint Air Navigation Services Council is responsible for the management of airspace and Air Traffic Service provision with a Joint and Integrated Approach between the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Defence.
These joint procedures are published in Civil Airspace Publication (CAP) 740 - UK Airspace Management Policy which is available on the Gov.uk website.
The practical policy guidance to enact an airspace change is published in CAP1616, again with the specific military stakeholder requirements considered throughout any change process.
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.