Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of the UK driving licences used in other EU nations after Brexit; and whether this issue has been discussed in the Brexit negotiations.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The treatment of driving licences will depend on the outcome of the final deal. We are seeking a deal to ensure mutual driving licence recognition after the UK leaves the EU, so that UK driving licences will continue to be recognised as they are today. Such a deal is in the interests of both sides and we have started these discussions.
Irrespective of the outcome of our negotiations, our ratification of the 1968 Vienna Convention and 1949 Geneva Convention will ensure that UK licence holders can continue to drive after exit throughout the EU and EEA using an international driving permit document if necessary.
Asked by: Lord Kilclooney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the proposed acquisition of Aer Lingus by International Consolidated Airlines, whether they have made representations to safeguard the slots at Heathrow airport for flights by British Airways and Aer Lingus to Belfast City; and whether they have made representations to safeguard the slots at Gatwick airport for flights to Belfast City.
Answered by Baroness Kramer - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Treasury and Economy)
The Government does not currently consider that there is a risk of air services between Belfast and London being lost. The routes remain commercially viable, with nearly two million passengers carried on almost 19,000 flights between the two Belfast airports and the five main London airports in 2013.
EU Regulations govern the allocation, transfer and exchange of slots at Heathrow, Gatwick and other slot co-ordinated airports in the UK. The purpose of the EU Slot Regulations is to support the operation of a single market for aviation by seeking to ensure airlines have fair and equal access to airports across the EU through the application of independent, non-discriminatory and transparent slot allocation procedures. The Regulations stipulate that the actual process of slot allocation is undertaken entirely independently of the Government, the UK Civil Aviation Authority or other parties. The Government has therefore made no representations to safeguard Heathrow or Gatwick slots for air services from Belfast.
In circumstances where vital air connectivity would be lost, EU law does provide some limited scope to protect regional air services by allowing Member States to establish public service obligations (PSOs) to protect air services to airports serving a peripheral or development region, or on thin routes considered vital for a region’s economic and social development. Where a PSO has been approved, this would permit slots to be ring-fenced at a London airport. There is no other mechanism for the Government to intervene in the allocation of slots at London airports.
As part of the 2013 Spending Round the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced that £20million would be made available over the two years 2014-15 and 2015-16 through a Regional Air Connectivity Fund to maintain regional air access to London through the establishment of PSOs where there was the probability that an existing air service would be lost. The 2014 Budget announced a doubling of the Regional Air Connectivity Fund to maintain existing connectivity to London.