Air Traffic Management (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP) [V]]

As with most other EU withdrawal Act statutory instruments, I cannot see any significant changes other than minor textual amendments. There is an exception, which is that in a few places the Government are seeking to change the word “shall”, which obviously makes it a requirement, to the words “shall endeavour to”, which makes it rather optional. For example, this happens in Regulation 27(3), Regulation 30(3) and multiple times in Regulation 48. What is the reasoning behind this change in wording? It appears to be not simply fitting retained EU law into UK law but changing the nature of the responsibility to a weaker requirement. The appropriate authority will now need only to try, rather than actually achieve, the stated outcomes. Can the Minister explain that dilution?

Slightly at a tangent, the last time the Minister and I exchanged words about aviation she asked me—perhaps rhetorically, because I was not able to answer since it was an Oral Question—whether, if all planes were net zero I would still be against flying. My answer is probably not. Assuming these magic planes do not cause excessive noise over residential areas, or any other harmful environmental effects, can I ask the Minister when these zero-carbon planes will be arriving, when we can phase out the climate-destroying planes and whether we can amend these regulations to help that along?