13 March 2007
The Government has responded to the report from the House of Commons Transport Committee’s report on ‘The Work of the Civil Aviation Authority’, which was released <a href=’newsfeed.php?artnum=346′ target=’_blank’>last November</a>.
In summary, the government dismisses – often using the words ‘the CAA does not agree’ – several of the suggestions and criticisms which were levelled at the CAA by the committee.
Among the headlines to come out of the original report was that EASA was in a ‘chaotic state’. The response refutes this, saying that “A genuine European single market in air transport services calls for common safety rules and harmonised standards of implementation. The Government has supported the development of a comprehensive European regulatory system, centred on an effective European Aviation Safety Agency, as part of its commitment to establishing and maintaining a high, uniform level of aviation safety across Europe.” The government has played a leading role in improving the performance of EASA, and will continue to do so.
“The Government and the CAA believe that the Agency is now on track to take on additional responsibilities when the relevant amendments to the Community legislation.”
Another major recommendation was that the National Audit Office should be granted access to the CAA. This recommendation is not accepted by the government, which argues that “sufficient measures are in place to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness.” The Secretary of State appoints the CAA’s external auditors (currently PricewaterhouseCoopers) and will consider, as part of the strategic review, whether further measures are necessary.
For the general aviation community, one important point raised by the original committee was that ‘changes to the Safety Regulation Group’s charges are likely to have a significant impact on members of the general aviation community and we are concerned by the suggestion that some pilots may choose to fly “outside the law”.’
The reponse: “The CAA is carefully monitoring the impact of its Safety Regulation charges on operators in the general aviation sector. In addition to the CAA Board action to modify the recommendations of the Joint Review Team in 2005 and 2006, the CAA is continuing to review its regulatory activity, and associated costs, in respect of the GA sector. We have seen no evidence that SRG’s charges are causing pilots to choose to fly ‘outside the law’.”
The document finishes with some paragraphs on general aviation:
The committee report: “We heard a wide range of concerns raised by members of the general aviation community in relation to over-regulation by the CAA and bias towards the commercial aviation sector. We therefore welcome the completion and publication by the CAA of both its Strategic Review of General Aviation in the UK and its Regulatory Review of General Aviation in the UK, and we support the recommendations they make.
(Paragraph 167). “We are concerned to note the findings of the CAA’s Strategic Review in relation to future potential skilled labour shortages in aviation, and we urge the Government and the CAA to work with the general aviation sector to help it continue to contribute to future skilled labour supply.”
The Government response: “The Government welcomes the contribution of the general aviation sector to the outcomes of the GA strategic review. The CAA has confirmed its support for the general aviation sector and, in taking forward the outcomes of both GA reviews, will liaise with the sector on many issues, including labour supply.”
Read the full report <a href=’http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmtran/371/371.pdf’ target=’_blank’>here</a> (for the pdf version) or <a href=’http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmtran/371/37102.htm’ target=’_blank’>here</a> (for the HTML version).
