Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions has he had with representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority on pilots maintaining their ratings during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are doing everything possible to support the industry during this difficult period, including being flexible about regulatory requirements where possible without compromising safety. The CAA have issued four General Exemptions which extend the validity period of certain licences, ratings, and certificates which expire before the 31st of October 2020 until the end date of the exemption (22nd of November 2020). The references for these General Exemptions and the associated conditions are ORS4 No.1378, ORS4 No.1383, ORS4 No.1384, and ORS4 No.1385. These are all publicly available on the CAA website at the following link:
The Government and the CAA will continue to monitor the situation in consultation with stakeholders and we expect to issue further exemptions in the near future to support the aviation sector further.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they plan to give to flying schools and clubs whose operations have been disrupted by measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The aviation industry, including General Aviation, is in an increasingly difficult financial position with significantly reduced demand.
A number of measures to support the industry have already been announced, including Time to Pay support with taxes, financial support for employees. and the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF). The Government is working urgently to develop further measures, as necessary
HMRC is ready to provide guidance and support as appropriate to all businesses and self-employed individuals who are experiencing temporary financial difficulties due to Coronavirus.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review urgently the legislation relating to cost sharing of flights and day leasing of aircraft.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport and the CAA keep all existing legislation under constant review, in order to maintain the UK's high standards of aviation safety. Cost-sharing was not applicable to the accident involving Emiliano Sala, although the Air Accidents Investigation Branch report refers to the practice in a more general context. American registered aircraft are subject to US cost-sharing rules which apply the ‘common purpose’ principle. There was no common purpose between the pilot and passenger on the accident flight, and so cost-sharing was not applicable.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why owners of high performance light aircraft based in the UK choose to register such aircraft on the US aircraft register under a Trust arrangement, rather than the UK aircraft register.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The operation of non-UK registered aircraft in the UK is permitted under regulations made by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The government commissioned an independent review into the UK approach to general aviation (GA) safety. This report is currently out for consultation, and can be viewed on the CAA’s website. While it looks at GA safety in the round, it found that traditionally the two main reasons why people may register aircraft on the US register are the ability to use a US Federal Aviation Administration Pilot Instrument Rating, and a sometimes-different approach to maintenance requirements.
These reasons are becoming less significant with the development of the new European Basic Instrument Rating to provide greater and easier access to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flying and the introduction of a new Part M Light maintenance regime for private non-commercial aircraft.
Full findings on the use of N-Registered aircraft in the UK GA sector are available at Appendix C-2 5.0 of the aforementioned review.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 10 February (HL Deb, col 2066), which organisations have been asked to contribute to their review of the safety of general aviation; and whether that includes the Air Charter Association.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The organisations engaged with as part of the General Aviation safety review are listed below. The independent general aviation safety review, funded by the Department for Transport, is focused on non-commercial aviation, often referred to as recreational aviation. The Air Charter Association is rightly concerned with illegal public transport activity and is engaging with the Civil Aviation Authority on the matter. Given their commercial focus they were not included in the consultation for this non-commercial aviation safety review; noting that illegal commercial activity does not fall within the direct scope of the review. Within the context of the recreational aviation review, the Air Charter Association may wish to submit a response to the forthcoming consultation on the recommendations of the review.
The UK Approach to Recreational General Aviation Safety review engaged with the following organisations:
GA Partnership – A CAA-led group of industry, regulator and government.
GASCo - General Aviation Safety Council
PPL IR Europe
BGA - British Gliding Association
AOPA - Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
BMAA - British Microlight Aircraft Association
LAA - Light Aircraft Association
GAA - General Aviation Alliance
EASA - European Aviation Safety Agency
EASA GA Task Force Member (EAS)
GAAC - General Aviation Awareness Council
UKAB - United Kingdom Airprox Board
AAIB - Air Accidents Investigation Branch
GBASF - General and Business Aviation Strategic Forum
AOG - Airfield Operators Group
GA Advocate
BAAC - British Balloon and airship club
UKFSC - UK Flight Safety Committee
CHIRP - Aviation and Maritime Confidential Incident Reporting
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 10 February (HL Deb, col 2066), whether they are considering the rules around cost sharing as part of their review of the safety of general aviation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The independent general aviation safety review, funded by the Department for Transport, is focused on non-commercial aviation, often referred to as recreational aviation. Cost sharing is considered in terms of setting out the rules and benefits of a properly conducted cost sharing flight which should support private pilots to ensure they do not inadvertently step beyond the rules. The review “UK Approach to Recreational General Aviation Safety: An Independent Review” will be published shortly as part of a wider consultation process on the review.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many occurrences of denied access to controlled airspace have been reported using form FCS1521 in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) received 16 reports of denied airspace access using its Form FCS 1521 during the 12-month period from 1 February 2019 to 31 January 2020.
The government is aware of the genuine concerns of the general aviation community around access to controlled airspace.
In October 2019 the government amended the Air Navigation Directions 2017. This requires the CAA to carry out a review of the classification of airspace to ensure the amount of controlled airspace is the minimum necessary to maintain a high standard of air safety and reflects the needs of all airspace users on an equitable basis.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to ensure the CAP1616 airspace design change process supports (a) general aviation, (b) gliding and (c) parachuting in the UK.
Answered by Grant Shapps - Secretary of State for Defence
The government’s overarching policy on airspace change is set out in the Air Navigation Directions 2017 and reflected in the Civil Aviation Authority’s CAP1616 airspace change process.
The Directions were amended in October 2019 to help support general aviation in the UK, and a further amendment to provide additional assistance is due shortly.
The objective is for the UK to be the best place in the world to undertake general aviation-related activities in order to inspire the next generation of pilots, engineers and designers, and an appropriate airspace change process is crucial to ensuring this.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many command appointments there are in the British army at one star and above, broken down by role.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There are 29 command appointments at one-star level and above within the Royal Navy, 42 within the Army, 18 within the Royal Air Force and 26 within Strategic Command. The table below shows a breakdown by role although for security reasons two Strategic Command posts are not included.
While broadly similar, the three services and Strategic Command use slightly different criteria for 'command appointments' because of their structural differences. Senior service officers also hold command appointments in roles outside of their service, for example in NATO. There are also non-command appointments at one-star level and above, both within and external to the single services.
Table 1: Command appointments at one-star level and above for the Army, Navy, Royal Air Force and Strategic Command
4 Star Command Appointments | Service |
First Sea Lord | RN |
Chief of the General Staff | Army |
Chief of the Air Staff | RAF |
Commander UK Strategic Command | Strat Com |
3 Star Command Appointments | |
Second Sea Lord | RN |
Fleet Commander | RN |
Commander Field Army | Army |
Commander Home Command | Army |
Deputy Commander Operations/ Air Member Operations | RAF |
Chief Joint Operations | Strat Com |
Director General Joint Force Development | Strat Com |
Director General Defence Medical Services | Strat Com |
2 Star Command Appointments | |
Commander Operations | RN |
Commander UK Strike Force / Rear Admiral Surface Ships | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability) | RN |
Flag Officer Sea Training & Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Training) | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Ships) | RN |
Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Submarines) / Rear Admiral (Submarines) | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation and Carrier Strike) / Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Personnel), Naval Secretary and Flag Officer Reserves | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy) | RN |
Commandant General Royal Marines | RN |
General Officer Commanding Regional Command | Army |
General Officer Commanding London District | Army |
General Officer Commanding 1st United Kingdom Division | Army |
General Officer Commanding 3rd United Kingdom Division | Army |
General Officer Commanding 6th United Kingdom Division | Army |
General Officer Commanding Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command | Army |
Commander Joint Helicopter Command | Army |
Air Officer Commanding 1 Group | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 2 Group | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 11 Group | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 22 (Training) Group & Chief of Staff Training | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 38 Group | RAF |
Chief of Staff UK Strategic Command | Strat Com |
Commander British Forces Cyprus | Strat Com |
Chief of Staff Operations | Strat Com |
Chief of Staff Joint Warfare | Strat Com |
Command Information Surveillance and Reconnaissance | Strat Com |
Surgeon General | Strat Com |
Director Medical Personnel & Training | Strat Com |
Director Defence Healthcare | Strat Com |
Commander Standing Joint Forces Headquarters | Strat Com |
1 Star Command Appointments | |
Commodore Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton | RN |
Naval Base Commander (Clyde) | RN |
Naval Base Commander (Devonport) | RN |
Naval Base Commander (Portsmouth) | RN |
Commander 3 Commando Brigade | RN |
Commander Littoral Strike Group | RN |
Commander UK Carrier Strike Group | RN |
Commander UK Maritime Component and Senior Royal Navy Officer (Gulf) | RN |
Commodore Royal Fleet Auxiliary | RN |
Commodore Maritime Reserves | RN |
Assistant Chief of Staff (Land and Littoral Strike / Deputy Commandant General Royal Marines) | RN |
Commander Portsmouth Flotilla | RN |
Commander Devonport Flotilla | RN |
Commander Faslane Flotilla | RN |
Captain HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH | RN |
Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron Commander British Forces Gibraltar | RN |
Commander 16 Air Assault Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Artillery Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade | Army |
Commander 12 Armoured Infantry Brigade | Army |
Commander 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade | Army |
Commander 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East | Army |
Commander 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East | Army |
Commander 11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East | Army |
Commander 8th Engineer Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Signal Brigade | Army |
Commander 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands | Army |
Commander 101st Logistics Brigade | Army |
Commander 102nd Logistics Brigade | Army |
Commander 104th Logistics Support Brigade | Army |
Commander 77th Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade | Army |
Commander 38th Irish Brigade | Army |
Commander 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland | Army |
Commander 160th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Wales | Army |
Commander Specialised Infantry Group | Army |
Commander 2nd Medical Brigade | Army |
Commander 1 Military Police Brigade and Provost Marshal (Army) | Army |
Deputy Commander Reserves 1st United Kingdom Division | Army |
Deputy Commander Reserves 3rd United Kingdom Division | Army |
Deputy Commander Reserves 6th United Kingdom Division | Army |
Commander Initial Training Group | Army |
Commander Collective Training Group | Army |
Commandant Royal School of Military Engineering | Army |
Commandant Defence College of Logistics Policing and Administration | Army |
Commandant Defence College of Technical Training | Army |
Deputy Commander Joint Helicopter Command | Army |
Commander Sandhurst Group | Army |
Air Officer Commanding 83 Expeditionary Air Group & UK Air Component Commander | RAF |
Commandant RAF College | RAF |
Joint Force Air Component Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer Lightning & Lightning Force Commander * | RAF |
Air Officer Typhoon & Typhoon Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer ISTAR and ISTAR Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer A4 & A4 Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer Force Protection, Force Protection Force Commander & Commandant General RAF Regiment* | RAF |
Air Officer Battlespace Management & Battlespace Management Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer Air Mobility & Air Mobility Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer A6 & A6 Force Commander* | RAF |
Commanding Officer Northwood Headquarters | Strat Com |
Deputy Commander British Forces Cyprus | Strat Com |
Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands | Strat Com |
Commander Combined/Joint Forces Headquarters | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Forces Logistic Component | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Forces Intelligence Group | Strat Com |
Station Commander Wyton | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Cyber Electro Magnetic Activity Group | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Force Cyber Group | Strat Com |
Commander British Forces Gibraltar | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Hospital Group | Strat Com |
Table notes:
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many command appointments there are in the Royal Navy at one star and above, broken down by role.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
There are 29 command appointments at one-star level and above within the Royal Navy, 42 within the Army, 18 within the Royal Air Force and 26 within Strategic Command. The table below shows a breakdown by role although for security reasons two Strategic Command posts are not included.
While broadly similar, the three services and Strategic Command use slightly different criteria for 'command appointments' because of their structural differences. Senior service officers also hold command appointments in roles outside of their service, for example in NATO. There are also non-command appointments at one-star level and above, both within and external to the single services.
Table 1: Command appointments at one-star level and above for the Army, Navy, Royal Air Force and Strategic Command
4 Star Command Appointments | Service |
First Sea Lord | RN |
Chief of the General Staff | Army |
Chief of the Air Staff | RAF |
Commander UK Strategic Command | Strat Com |
3 Star Command Appointments | |
Second Sea Lord | RN |
Fleet Commander | RN |
Commander Field Army | Army |
Commander Home Command | Army |
Deputy Commander Operations/ Air Member Operations | RAF |
Chief Joint Operations | Strat Com |
Director General Joint Force Development | Strat Com |
Director General Defence Medical Services | Strat Com |
2 Star Command Appointments | |
Commander Operations | RN |
Commander UK Strike Force / Rear Admiral Surface Ships | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Capability) | RN |
Flag Officer Sea Training & Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Training) | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Ships) | RN |
Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland and Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Submarines) / Rear Admiral (Submarines) | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Aviation and Carrier Strike) / Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Personnel), Naval Secretary and Flag Officer Reserves | RN |
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Policy) | RN |
Commandant General Royal Marines | RN |
General Officer Commanding Regional Command | Army |
General Officer Commanding London District | Army |
General Officer Commanding 1st United Kingdom Division | Army |
General Officer Commanding 3rd United Kingdom Division | Army |
General Officer Commanding 6th United Kingdom Division | Army |
General Officer Commanding Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command | Army |
Commander Joint Helicopter Command | Army |
Air Officer Commanding 1 Group | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 2 Group | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 11 Group | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 22 (Training) Group & Chief of Staff Training | RAF |
Air Officer Commanding 38 Group | RAF |
Chief of Staff UK Strategic Command | Strat Com |
Commander British Forces Cyprus | Strat Com |
Chief of Staff Operations | Strat Com |
Chief of Staff Joint Warfare | Strat Com |
Command Information Surveillance and Reconnaissance | Strat Com |
Surgeon General | Strat Com |
Director Medical Personnel & Training | Strat Com |
Director Defence Healthcare | Strat Com |
Commander Standing Joint Forces Headquarters | Strat Com |
1 Star Command Appointments | |
Commodore Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton | RN |
Naval Base Commander (Clyde) | RN |
Naval Base Commander (Devonport) | RN |
Naval Base Commander (Portsmouth) | RN |
Commander 3 Commando Brigade | RN |
Commander Littoral Strike Group | RN |
Commander UK Carrier Strike Group | RN |
Commander UK Maritime Component and Senior Royal Navy Officer (Gulf) | RN |
Commodore Royal Fleet Auxiliary | RN |
Commodore Maritime Reserves | RN |
Assistant Chief of Staff (Land and Littoral Strike / Deputy Commandant General Royal Marines) | RN |
Commander Portsmouth Flotilla | RN |
Commander Devonport Flotilla | RN |
Commander Faslane Flotilla | RN |
Captain HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH | RN |
Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron Commander British Forces Gibraltar | RN |
Commander 16 Air Assault Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Artillery Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade | Army |
Commander 12 Armoured Infantry Brigade | Army |
Commander 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade | Army |
Commander 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East | Army |
Commander 7th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters East | Army |
Commander 11th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters South East | Army |
Commander 8th Engineer Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Signal Brigade | Army |
Commander 11th Signal Brigade and Headquarters West Midlands | Army |
Commander 101st Logistics Brigade | Army |
Commander 102nd Logistics Brigade | Army |
Commander 104th Logistics Support Brigade | Army |
Commander 77th Brigade | Army |
Commander 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade | Army |
Commander 38th Irish Brigade | Army |
Commander 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland | Army |
Commander 160th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Wales | Army |
Commander Specialised Infantry Group | Army |
Commander 2nd Medical Brigade | Army |
Commander 1 Military Police Brigade and Provost Marshal (Army) | Army |
Deputy Commander Reserves 1st United Kingdom Division | Army |
Deputy Commander Reserves 3rd United Kingdom Division | Army |
Deputy Commander Reserves 6th United Kingdom Division | Army |
Commander Initial Training Group | Army |
Commander Collective Training Group | Army |
Commandant Royal School of Military Engineering | Army |
Commandant Defence College of Logistics Policing and Administration | Army |
Commandant Defence College of Technical Training | Army |
Deputy Commander Joint Helicopter Command | Army |
Commander Sandhurst Group | Army |
Air Officer Commanding 83 Expeditionary Air Group & UK Air Component Commander | RAF |
Commandant RAF College | RAF |
Joint Force Air Component Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer Lightning & Lightning Force Commander * | RAF |
Air Officer Typhoon & Typhoon Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer ISTAR and ISTAR Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer A4 & A4 Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer Force Protection, Force Protection Force Commander & Commandant General RAF Regiment* | RAF |
Air Officer Battlespace Management & Battlespace Management Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer Air Mobility & Air Mobility Force Commander* | RAF |
Air Officer A6 & A6 Force Commander* | RAF |
Commanding Officer Northwood Headquarters | Strat Com |
Deputy Commander British Forces Cyprus | Strat Com |
Commander British Forces South Atlantic Islands | Strat Com |
Commander Combined/Joint Forces Headquarters | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Forces Logistic Component | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Forces Intelligence Group | Strat Com |
Station Commander Wyton | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Cyber Electro Magnetic Activity Group | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Force Cyber Group | Strat Com |
Commander British Forces Gibraltar | Strat Com |
Commander Joint Hospital Group | Strat Com |
Table notes: