Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many people have been prosecuted for flying a drone in a Restricted Fly Zone around (a) closed prisons and (b) young offender institutions since January 2024.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Flying a drone in the restricted airspace around a closed prison or young offender institution is an offence contrary to the Air Navigation Order 2016. The Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for investigating and prosecuting this offence and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data in respect of it. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold any data which shows the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted of offences created by the Prison Act 1952 including the offences created by sections 40B, 40C and 40CB. Similarly, no data is held showing the method of used to convey items into or out of a prison or young offender institution. To establish how many defendants charged with these offences were prosecuted and if a drone was used would require a manual review of case files and this would be at disproportionate cost. Management information is available from 2024 which shows the number of offences charged by way of section 40B, 40C and 40CB in which a prosecution commenced. The table below shows the number of these offences from 1st January 2024 to 30th September 2025.
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Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the noise from aircraft operating between 4,000 and 7,000 feet under the proposed Aviation Navigation Guidance 2026 on affected communities; and whether that is a material consideration in airspace change decisions.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport consultation on changes to the Air Navigation Guidance closed on 26 January 2026 and responses are now being reviewed. The consultation included a proposal for new airspace design priorities which would prioritise flight efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from 4,000 feet and above, with minimising noise impacts prioritised below that altitude.
An Options Appraisal was published alongside the consultation. The detailed assessment of the impacts of a specific airspace change would be carried out as part of that airspace change proposal. As well as taking account of the airspace design priorities it would also reflect other airspace modernisation measures which can have a positive impact on noise, such as steeper climbs and descents, meaning that aircraft spend less time at lower altitudes.
A key requirement for any airspace change proposal is, and will continue to be, that people who may be affected by a change have the necessary information and are consulted before any final decisions are made.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what schemes and programmes her Department has in place to help support zero-emission in (a) shipping and (b) aviation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission maritime vessels and aircraft could provide.
The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2025, sets out our policies and commitments to decarbonise the sector. We are already meeting these commitments through the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to domestic maritime from July 2026, and we will consult on maritime fuel regulations later this year.
We have announced a further £448 million of funding of the UK SHORE programme, the biggest government investment ever in the UK’s commercial maritime sector, which will unlock innovation and investment potential in UK technologies, ports and shipyards.
We will continue to work closely with maritime industry partners to help the sector unlock the investment it needs to transition to zero, and near-zero, emission fuels and technologies.
We have already made significant progress on aviation decarbonisation, with considerable support for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), airspace modernisation and development of new technologies.
Alongside other measures, zero emission flight has a role to play in decarbonising the sector. In January, we announced up to £43m of R&D funding for aviation decarbonisation, including confirming our continued support of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Hydrogen in Aviation Regulatory Challenge. This is informing the development of a regulatory framework for zero-emission hydrogen aircraft. Also, the Department for Transport (DfT) will publish shortly a report into the barriers and opportunities to commercialising hydrogen in aviation, completed by a Jet Zero Taskforce Task and Finish Group.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to promote community engagement on the new Air Navigation Guidance.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport consulted on potential changes to the statutory guidance (The Air Navigation Guidance) it provides to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This guidance is used by the CAA to inform its airspace change process. The consultation closed on 26 January 2026 and responses are now being reviewed.
The consultation was open to everyone and a number of groups representing local communities, as well as individuals and companies, responded.
Engagement and consultation has always been part of the airspace change process. The proposals in the draft Guidance aim to retain and enhance the principle that anyone potentially affected by an airspace change should have the information they need and the ability to feed in their views before final decisions are taken. The sponsor for an Airspace Change will be responsible for ensuring this happens effectively as a key part of the airspace change process.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason (a) the number of staff and (b) and staff costs have increased at the Civil Aviation Authority since April 2017.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since 2016, the CAA’s regulatory perimeter has expanded significantly. Following EU Exit, the CAA developed new rulemaking and regulatory oversight functions to replace those delivered by the European Aviation Safety Agency until 2020, including the creation of a UK state of design function. As a result of the Space Industry Act 2018, the CAA became the UK Space Regulator in 2021. At the same time, the CAA has grown to respond to the development of novel aviation technology (including drones, air taxis and future propulsion such as hydrogen), setting regulatory frameworks and standards to enable tomorrow’s aerospace to innovate and grow. The Future of Flight technologies have the potential to contribute up to £103 billion to the UK economy over the next 25 years.
Reflecting its strategic objectives and the government’s priorities, the CAA has created additional capacity in five areas; in economic regulation and consumer enforcement to manage increased ambition and expectations; to fulfil CAA’s expanded remit in relation to airspace modernisation; to deliver new cyber security oversight responsibilities for the aviation sector; and to deliver the CAA’s sustainability roles, including those it took on from the Independent Commission for Civil Aviation Noise; together with increases in back-office areas supporting these teams. All of this has been delivered with a focus on efficiency and efficacy, enabling increased investment in CAA services to its customers.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of existing monitoring and data collection arrangements for helicopter movements in uncontrolled airspace, including over residential areas.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not monitor aircraft movements within uncontrolled airspace and therefore has not made any assessment of existing monitoring and data collection arrangements for helicopter movements in uncontrolled airspace.
The Civil Aviation Authority, as the UK's independent regulator for civil aviation, manages and regulates the use of UK airspace. Uncontrolled airspace enables aircraft to operate freely and without the need to follow set routes, whilst abiding by the Rules of the Air Regulation 2015.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support her Department is providing to the Regulatory Innovation Office to help ensure greater commercial and non-military drone adoption.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The RIO is a key Government lever for achieving its transformative ambitions in regulatory innovation. It has been established as an in-house function within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
The RIO has been working in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to deliver regulatory reform to support drone adoption and commercialisation since its founding in October 2024. In March 2025, RIO and DfT ministers agreed six priorities for the CAA’s regulation of drones, including an extension and simplification of airspace change processes and a commitment to develop options for electronic conspicuity (technology that allows aircraft to be digitally aware of one another). The RIO has supported the CAA to develop and expand its atypical air environments policy, making commercial activity possible using drones in airspace where there is low risk of collision with other aircraft. The RIO has provided funding to support the CAA’s efficiency by using AI in its drone approvals processes and to make drone deliveries in specific use cases, such as to Argyll & Bute, routine. The RIO has also worked with the CAA to publish a set of drone regulation performance metrics to ensure there is transparency for the sector. The RIO partnered with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to clear the regulatory pathway for drones to be adopted for commercial agricultural activities.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK and Poland agree enhanced missile defence and helicopter training cooperation, published on 13 January, how many Polish helicopter pilots will conduct training in the UK in each remaining year of the current Parliament.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Poland is one of the UK’s strongest allies and the UK-Poland defence relationship goes from strength to strength. Cooperation under NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission sees British and Polish pilots flying together to protect Polish and NATO airspace. 8 Polish military helicopter pilots will commence training at RAF Shawbury in Training Year 2026/2027; this has been agreed through the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) programme. NFTE allocations for the remaining Training Years in the current Parliament have not yet been confirmed.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements exist between the UK and the Republic of Ireland for the interception of unidentified or hostile aircraft in Irish airspace.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Access to Irish airspace is managed through extant diplomatic channels as per international norms with clearance being requested and granted for state aircraft under set conditions. UK Military aircraft do not enter the sovereign airspace of Ireland for operational purposes, without the express prior agreement of the Irish Government. Questions on sovereign airspace access and associated regulations are for individual nations to answer, therefore any questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Irish Government.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what defence expenditure is planned in (1) 2026–27, (2) 2027–28, and (3) 2028–30; and whether those figures take account of (1) the updated National Risk Register 2025, and (2) the danger of Russian aggression in the airspace or waters of the North Atlantic.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Following the Spending Review, the Government has set a clear path for defence spending to reach 2.6% of GDP from 2027. The exact figures were set out in the published Spending Review on 11 June 2025.
This takes account of the capabilities and reforms that the Strategic Defence Review has identified are needed to meet the challenges and threats, including countering Russian aggression, new nuclear risks, and daily cyber-attacks at home.