Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2026 to Question 21965 on Aerospace Industry, how many full-time equivalent staff have been employed in the Civil Aviation Authority's certification function in each year since 2019; and what the planned staffing level is for each of the next three years.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for determining the staffing and resources required to discharge its statutory functions. Since EU Exit, the CAA has developed and significantly expanded its certification capability to undertake responsibilities that were previously carried out at the European level and to support demand from the UK aviation sector.

The Department is assured that the CAA keeps its resource requirements under regular review to ensure it can effectively deliver its regulatory obligations and respond to industry needs. The timeliness of certification activity is influenced by a range of factors, including the complexity of individual applications and the information provided by applicants, as well as regulatory processes.