Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many general aviation flights originating in countries on the red list during the covid-19 pandemic operated (a) directly and (b) indirectly into UK airports in each of the last three months.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Information on the number of commercially operated flights is collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and is currently complete up to November 2020. The list of ‘red list’ countries was last updated on 29 January 2021, therefore the ‘red list’ designation did not apply at the time that the flights operated.
The data shows that in November 2020, flights operated into UK airports from countries which are now currently identified as ‘red list’ were as follows:
Complete data for December 2020 and January 2021 will be made available to the Department later in 2021.
The CAA does not collect data on General Aviation flights at UK airports by country of origin. Further timely information on overall volumes of flights directly performed to and from the UK across all types of flight operations (inclusive of passenger, cargo-only, military and general aviation flights) are made publicly available by Eurocontrol on their website, however breakdowns by country of origin and flight type are not routinely made available.
The Department does not hold statistics on indirect flights operating into UK airports.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) direct commercial, (b) indirect commercial and (c) cargo flights operated into UK airports from countries on the red list during the covid-19 pandemic in each of the last three months.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Information on the number of commercially operated flights is collected by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and is currently complete up to November 2020. The list of ‘red list’ countries was last updated on 29 January 2021, therefore the ‘red list’ designation did not apply at the time that the flights operated.
The data shows that in November 2020, flights operated into UK airports from countries which are now currently identified as ‘red list’ were as follows:
Complete data for December 2020 and January 2021 will be made available to the Department later in 2021.
The CAA does not collect data on General Aviation flights at UK airports by country of origin. Further timely information on overall volumes of flights directly performed to and from the UK across all types of flight operations (inclusive of passenger, cargo-only, military and general aviation flights) are made publicly available by Eurocontrol on their website, however breakdowns by country of origin and flight type are not routinely made available.
The Department does not hold statistics on indirect flights operating into UK airports.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) passengers and (b) crews on flights arriving (i) directly and (ii) indirectly at general aviation airports in the UK from countries on the red list during the covid-19 pandemic will be subject to hotel quarantine procedures.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As outlined by the Heath Secretary’s announcement to the House of Commons on 9 February 2021, new measures will come into force from 15 February 2021 to deliver robust measures, coupled with stronger enforcement action. A range of measures will apply to passengers and crew travelling from ‘red list’ countries, and those who have been in ‘red list’ countries in the past 10 days. Further guidance and information following this announcement will be issued in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what environmental requirements they have imposed on FlyPop as a condition of the funding they awarded to that company; what are the requirements of that funding in relation to Civil Aviation Authority registration; and what due diligence processes were applied to that funding decision.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Future Fund provides Government loans to UK-based companies, ranging from £125,000 to £5 million. In terms of eligibility, firms qualify for the loans as long as they are able to attract at least equal match funding from private investors, and subject to both firms and investors meeting all the requirements of the scheme. The scheme was launched for firms who are at pre-profit or pre-revenue stage, and who may be ineligible for the various COVID loan schemes, as these firms rely on equity finance rather than debt. The Future Fund does not impose additional conditions on eligible businesses.
The British Business Bank, which manages the Future Fund, has established strong due diligence processes which are built into the portal to ensure firms and investors prove their eligibility. The portal also asks for documentation from investors, firms, and their solicitors, to carry out ‘Know Your Customer’ and anti-money laundering checks, as well as general fraud checks. These measures ensure that fraudulent activity is avoided, in addition to ensuring that the funds have been allocated correctly to the applicant.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of (1) the increase of the use of drones by law enforcement agencies in England and Wales in the last four years, and (2) the reasons for any variation between police forces in their reliance on drones.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not currently have any plans to update legislation on the use of drones by law enforcement agencies. The use of drones by law enforcement agencies is guided by regulations set by the Civil Aviation Authority and the use of surveillance cameras by police is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (2018) and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice (2013).
The use of drones is an operational decision for individual police forces who deploy drones based on their operational needs. The Home Office does not gather any data on the use of drones by law enforcement agencies.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to update legislation covering the use of drones by law enforcement agencies (1) to incorporate provisions for transparency, and (2) to allow the development of guidance.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not currently have any plans to update legislation on the use of drones by law enforcement agencies. The use of drones by law enforcement agencies is guided by regulations set by the Civil Aviation Authority and the use of surveillance cameras by police is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (2018) and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice (2013).
The use of drones is an operational decision for individual police forces who deploy drones based on their operational needs. The Home Office does not gather any data on the use of drones by law enforcement agencies.
Asked by: Lord Lilley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) EEA citizens, and (2) citizens of countries requiring visas to visit the UK, are permitted to enter the UK at a point on the coast which does not have a port or any form of border control.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
All passengers arriving in the UK at passport control are checked against Home Office databases. The majority of these are checked against our systems before they even travel, through the collection of advanced passenger information (API).
Border Force defines General Aviation (GA) and General Maritime (GM) as any arrival into the UK that is not operating to a specific and published schedule and departing at both small airports and marinas with no Border Force presence, and at major airports where Border Force officers are located. Both EU/EEA citizens (1) and visa nationals (2) may arrive at General Aviation or General Maritime ports
There is a requirement for advance passenger information to be submitted for General Aviation and General Maritime arrivals. When the relevant information is received, and there is a requirement to examine the passenger, Border Force Officers will be deployed.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to improve the safety and regulation of light aircraft, and (2) the safety and regulation of such aircraft which are registered in the United States and other overseas jurisdictions but operating primarily in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport has recently commissioned an independent review into the safety of recreational General Aviation. The review showed a continuous downward trend in the number of accidents involving light aircrafts since the 1980s, and that the number of accidents in the UK is lower than in the US, Australia and New Zealand. The authors considered that the current safety level of recreational GA is acceptable but made a number of recommendations. We will work with the CAA to consider the implications, and will continue to keep all areas of safety policy under review.
Regarding third country registered aircraft based in the UK, the majority are non-complex aircraft registered in the US, used for recreational aviation. Both the General Aviation safety review and evidence from the CAA show there is no evidence that overall non-UK registered aircraft are maintained to a lower standard than UK registered aircraft, and that overall non-UK and European registered aircraft do not have a higher accident rate.
For these reasons, the Department for Transport does not consider there to be a safety case to change the regulation of third country registered aircrafts operating primarily in the UK. However, as highlighted above, we will continue to keep all areas of safety policy under review.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban foreign-registered planes from being based in the UK for longer than 90 days.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Transport and the CAA do not currently believe there is any justification on safety grounds for such a measure, and therefore will not be pursuing this. This is due to the findings of the recent independent General Aviation safety review finding both that non-UK / European registered aircraft operating in the UK have an accident rate no higher than average, and that there is no evidence that these aircraft are maintained to a lower standard. Legislation of this type would also impact aircraft registered in the EU that are currently able to circulate freely between the UK and the EU.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to discourage UK-based aircraft from using foreign registration systems with less onerous regulatory requirements.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The majority of third country registered aircraft based in Europe are non-complex aircraft registered in the US, used for recreational aviation. The Department for Transport recently commissioned an independent review into the safety of recreational General Aviation. Both the review and evidence from the CAA show there is no evidence that overall non-UK registered aircraft are maintained to a lower standard than UK registered aircraft, and that overall non-UK and European registered aircraft do not have a higher accident rate. Introducing restrictions could unnecessarily impact aircraft registered in Europe that are operated and maintained to the same standards as those in the UK.
For these reasons, the Department for Transport does not consider there to be a safety case to proactively discourage UK-based aircraft from being registered to third countries. Further, changes made at European level, which the UK has adopted, have removed some of the incentives for registering an aircraft with a third country. We are closely following proposals by the European Aviation Safety Agency on this topic, and will consider whether a parallel approach would be appropriate for the UK post-Transition Period.