Asked by: Lord Brabazon of Tara (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 31 safety recommendations made by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) in its report on the accident to Boeing 737-236 series 1, G-BGJC at Manchester International Airport on 22 August 1985 remain extant, or have been improved, within current UK or EU aircraft airworthiness requirements or operational procedures; and what specific procedures are in place consistently to monitor the implementation of all of those AAIB recommendations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
After detailed analysis of the 31 recommendations made by the AAIB to the CAA, 28 were implemented and another was partially implemented. The CAA's initial response to the AAIB’s recommendations, including any resulting changes to requirements or operational procedures, were published in their publication CAP593 ‘Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) Recommendations: Progress Report 1990’.
Recommendations are not tracked once implemented as routine regulatory oversight arrangements will then apply.Changes to legal requirements or guidance introduced as a result of a recommendation may be superseded as aircraft design, technology and legislation develops.
Asked by: Lord Brabazon of Tara (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority to reduce the risk to life caused by passengers on United Kingdom registered aircraft who retrieve, or attempt to retrieve, and remove cabin baggage from the aircraft during an emergency evacuation, against the explicit instructions and lawful orders of the aircraft's crew and commander and in contravention of the Air Navigation Order.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Her Majesty’s Government are aware of concerns regarding passengers attempting to retrieve or remove cabin baggage from the aircraft during an emergency evacuation. The Department for Transport are working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and our international partners at the European Aviation Safety Agency to review the current requirement for passenger briefings.
In advance of any amendments to European Aviation Regulations, the CAA will be publishing a Safety Notice on the management of passengers and cabin baggage in the event of an aircraft evacuation.
Asked by: Lord Brabazon of Tara (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 27 January (HL4238), when they last made an assessment of driver training and testing standards in each of the designated countries; which body carried out the assessment; where the assessments were carried out; and whether any countries have been removed from or added to the list of the designated countries in the last ten years.
Answered by Baroness Kramer - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Treasury and Economy)
Designation of a country is based on an assessment of driver training and testing standards in that country to ensure that they are comparable with those in this country. A full assessment is carried out prior to the designation of each country. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) requests relevant information about the country’s testing and licensing systems. This is then passed to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for consideration and approval. If the decision is made to designate the country, the law is then amended to include the new country.
The table below shows when each designated country was fully assessed:
Date of Last full Assessment | Designated Country |
1984 | Australia; Hong Kong; New Zealand; Singapore; Switzerland |
1985 | Barbados; British Virgin Islands; Zimbabwe; Japan |
1999 | South Africa; Canada |
2002 | Republic of Korea; Monaco |
2004 | Falkland Islands |
2007 | Faroe Islands |
2013 | Andorra |
When reviewing these arrangements the DVLA contacts each country and requests updated information about the country’s testing and licensing systems. When changes are identified, information is passed to the DVSA for further consideration and approval.
A review of Canada, Falkland Islands, Monaco, Republic of Korea and Zimbabwe was carried out in January 2014 and the remaining designated countries (Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Switzerland) are currently under review. To date, it has not been necessary to refer a designated country to the DVSA for full reassessment.
In the last 10 years the Faroe Islands (2007) and Andorra (2013) have been designated for driving licence exchange in Great Britain. To date, only one country has been de-designated, this was Kenya in 2002.