Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a drone registration scheme similar to the scheme operated by the Federal Aviation Administration in the US.

The Government has already put into law a registration requirement for all operators of drones weighing 250 grams or more. This was done in May last year. The registration requirement will come into force this year on 30 November 2019.

As explained in the Government’s July 2017 response to its public consultation on the safe use of drones in the UK, the primary aims of introducing a registration scheme are to improve the accountability of drone users, aid enforcement and enable direct educational targeting of these users in order to improve safety, security and privacy.