Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Future of Flight Action Plan, published on 18 March, where the ‘temporary reserved areas’ will operate; and what will be the size of those areas.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Details of location and size are proposed by the industry, before assessment by the CAA on a case-by-case basis, to consider safety in the proposed operational environment.
Temporary Reserved Areas (TRAs) are applied for through the Airspace Change Process, which allows for consultation with potentially impacted stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Future of Flight Action Plan, published on 18 March, what is their timeline to achieve operational ‘temporary reserved areas’ by end of 2024.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Operational temporary reserved areas (TRAs) are in use now and throughout 2024 for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) trials, enabling the CAA to validate the use of airspace policy concepts with real world use cases.
Mar. 28 2024
Source Page: AAIB Annual Safety Review 2023Found: Aviation and Mid-Air Collision Accident Statistics 2003-2023 Figure 1 Mid-air collision events in UK airspace
Mar. 28 2024
Source Page: Letter dated 24/03/2024 from Grant Shapps MP to Henry Smith MP regarding strengthening Ukraine's air defences, as discussed following the Oral Statement on Ukraine. 1p.Found: layered Integrated Air and Missile Defence that protects both Rzeszow-Jasionka Airfield and Polish airspace
Mar. 28 2024
Source Page: Permitted Development Rights review - phase 3: consultation analysisFound: light of evidence that solar panels do not interfere with communication s equipment or infringe on airspace
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the smuggling of (a) drugs and (b) communication devices into prisons.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are committed to tackling the smuggling of all illicit items into prisons, including drugs and communication devices such as mobile phones.
We completed the £100 million Security Investment Programme in March 2022, which included funding to bolster physical security measures. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we had recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the supply of drugs and mobile phones into prisons. We also deployed Enhanced Gate Security to 42 high-risk prisons under this investment, implementing routine searching of staff and visitors. This included 659 dedicated staff, 154 drug sniffing dogs and over 200 pieces of equipment.
We have 165 drug trace detection machines across the prison estate to prevent the smuggling of drugs, such as psychoactive substances, through the mail. The rollout of an additional 20 next-generation devices was completed in March 2024, meaning every public section prison now has this next-generation equipment.
X-ray baggage scanners have been installed at 49 sites (45 prisons and 4 learning centres) building on the rollout of our X-ray body scanners, gate security and drug trace detection machines.
New airspace restrictions took effect on 25 January 2024 to create 400 metre flight restriction zones around all closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. These will ensure swift action is taken against criminal drone activity, including the smuggling of illicit items.
Mar. 25 2024
Source Page: UK/Senegal: Defence Cooperation Agreement concerning Military Cooperation [CS Senegal No.1/2024]Found: during mutually approved exercises or training held in the Host Part y’s territory, including its airspace
Mar. 22 2024
Source Page: Letter dated 18/03/2024 from Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to Lord Berkeley regarding UK support for transport infrastructure in Ukraine, as discussed during the Oral Statement on Ukraine. 2p.Found: a Solidarity Fund for Ukraine’s ANSP, to help it maintain its staffing and services, for when its airspace
Mar. 21 2024
Source Page: The Antarctic Treaty: Measures adopted at the 45th Consultative Meeting 2023Found: glacial ice, 2km to either side of this site down to within 200m of the coastline, and includes the airspace
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which airlines are banned from entering United Kingdom airspace.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The safety of aviation and the travelling public is a priority for the UK government.
The UK Air Safety List, which came into force in January 2021, comprises of known states and air carriers that have failed to demonstrate that they meet relevant, internationally agreed safety standards. They are therefore banned from operating into, out of or within the UK.
The Air Safety List is published online on a gov.uk website and is available for the public to view. It ensures that UK citizens continue to be protected and informed wherever they are in the world, as well as acts as a deterrent to poor safety performance of air carriers and States.