Civilian Use of Drones (EUC Report)

Lord Rosser Excerpts

Tuesday 8th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rosser (Lab)]

My Lords, I add my thanks to those already expressed to the committee and the noble Baroness, Lady O’Cathain, for their report on the civilian use of drones in the European Union. Whether we are concerned or unconcerned about the impact of drones, the reality is, first, that they are here to stay and, secondly, that their use will dramatically increase, both numerically and in scope, and with it their importance in our daily lives.

Drones are a bit like the internet and social media. While having many benefits and providing many pluses, they also have downsides, since the uses to which they are put and the way in which they are used and deployed by some individuals and organisations will not always be deemed acceptable or appropriate.

As the report sets out, drones usually associated with military use are already being used extensively for a variety of civilian and commercial uses in the fields of logistics, security, construction, agriculture, energy and conservation, to name but some. My noble friends Lord Giddens and Lord Haskel emphasised that the potential future beneficial uses to which drones could be put are amazing.

There are clearly major opportunities for British companies, and indeed for Europe, to take a lead in the development of new technology in this field, and in so doing, to secure the creation of new jobs, both those directly engaged in the production and development of drones and those within the associated activities and businesses supporting this new industry.

However, our justifiable enthusiasm for wanting to be leaders in this field, and our justifiable enthusiasm for wanting to secure the many benefits that the use and development of drones will surely continue to bring, must not be allowed to obscure the potential adverse consequences arising from the development and expansion of drones and the urgent need for effective measures to address and mitigate those adverse consequences.

A recent report from Lloyd’s of London suggested that while spending on drones is likely to double by 2024, those who produce and use such equipment, as well as insurers, do not seem fully prepared for the emerging consequences. These include the risks of cyberattacks, reckless pilots, privacy issues, the danger of collisions or damage to third parties, and conflicting international regulations.

There have already been proceedings arising from the use of drones, including that of a person in a restaurant in New York who was injured by a drone being used to take photographs of diners, and an Australian triathlete who was struck by a drone that fell from the sky.

There have also been questions in this House about the regulation of drones. In November last year, the then Government stated in a Written Answer that the Department for Transport was currently developing its policy in respect of civil remotely piloted aircraft systems and intended in 2015 to engage in a public dialogue on issues such as the environmental impact, safety and privacy. No doubt the Minister will update the House on the progress being made with this public dialogue when he responds. I hope that he can be a little more specific than the statement made on this point in the Government’s response to the committee’s report.

The noble Baroness, Lady O’Cathain, set out in her opening comments the conclusions and recommendations of the committee and I will not take up the time of the House by repeating them. The report by her committee, which strongly supported the European Commission’s aim to create an internal market in the EU for the commercial use of remotely piloted aircraft systems, has been well received. In the light of its recommendations, the committee has welcomed the Government’s continuing commitment to contribute actively to the development of harmonised safety rules for remotely piloted aircraft systems across the European Union, and for a proportionate and risk-based approach to such regulations.

Perhaps the Minister will say what progress has been made by the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems in drafting the safety regulations for Europe, and whether the Government are satisfied with the way JARUS is carrying out its role, or indeed is able to carry out its role.

In his letter to the relevant Transport Minister dated 9 July 2015, the chairman of the European Union Committee drew attention to a number of points on which his committee wished to request further information, and said that he hoped for a reply to his letter before the Summer Recess. I may be wrong, but as I understand it no such reply has been received. It would be helpful if the Minister would take this opportunity to respond to the points raised in the letter.

Among other issues, the letter asked what steps the Government were taking to ensure that the Civil Aviation Authority was adequately resourced to monitor the safety of remotely piloted aircraft systems operations and to support SMEs in the United Kingdom that are entering the industry. The noble Baroness, Lady O’Cathain, raised the issue of police resources in her opening comments.

The European Union Committee also asked what steps the Government were taking to ensure that the Civil Aviation Authority complied with its recommendation that national aviation authorities be required to share statistics regarding drone incidents with regulators, insurers and operators in other member states in order to improve the information used by insurers to assess the risks of different RPAS operations.

A further question raised that I hope the Minister will address was whether the Government were engaging with the industry on the development of an online database or app that would enable drones to be tracked and identified, and what the Government’s assessment was of the progress that has been made towards this goal.

As the committee’s report says, concerns including but certainly not confined to safety regarding the use of drones by state authorities, the media or leisure users among others could, if not addressed, undermine public acceptance of this new technology and put at risk the many beneficial impacts for society that the new technology can deliver.

The committee has done a real service in drawing attention to the issues involved, to the actual and potential beneficial impacts of drones and, above all, to the need to ensure that appropriate action is taken now to minimise the likelihood of unnecessary and avoidable difficulties in future over the way in which drones are used or misused by those who, intentionally or unintentionally, may be less than sensitive to the safety, privacy, security or data protection questions raised by this new and fast-developing technology.