Civil Aviation Bill

Kwasi Kwarteng Excerpts

Monday 30th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) (Con)]

I had prepared some introductory remarks, but in view of the kind comments of the hon. Member for Glasgow South (Mr Harris), I should perhaps clarify my view on the third runway. In the course of my brief parliamentary career, I have never explicitly come out in favour of the third runway, but those who know me know that I am very partial to it, even though I am not necessarily saying it is the only solution to the aviation capacity problem the country faces. It is, however, vital for the economic future of our country that we solve this problem, especially given the stagnant growth here and in the eurozone. Too often in our post-war history we have adopted short-term policies that have impeded our long-term growth. I hope that our future aviation policies will not impede our future growth, however. The question of aviation capacity in the south-east is very important. We have debated it in the House before, and I have written about it.

I turn now to the Bill itself, which is a slightly different subject. The Bill is to be welcomed for a number of reasons. Most notably, our current civil aviation rules were framed almost three decades ago in the 1980s, and the Bill makes laudable attempts to modernise the regulation of this important industry. The broad thrust of the Bill is to place the customer at the centre of any considerations, and that should be supported. Its measures will establish as the Civil Aviation Authority’s primary focus the promotion of the interests of the passenger, and the entire industry accepts that that should be the case.

There is, however, a wider question, which was raised by the Select Committee, of which I am privileged to be a member. We found in our pre-legislative scrutiny report that the CAA should have as a secondary duty the need to take account of the reasonable interests of the airlines. Some might say that the airlines are very good at looking after themselves as they are quite well financed and have good lobbyists. When addressing aviation issues, however, we must consider all the participants, including airports and airlines as well as passengers. It is a commonly held belief that in the field of competitive air transport the needs of the airlines are closely aligned with those of the passengers, and I agree. As their interests are generally aligned rather than in conflict, we must consider including this secondary duty in the Bill. As this is to a considerable extent a co-operative industry, with airlines, airports and passengers all part of the mix, I strongly support the Bill’s providing for symmetrical rights of appeal, allowing airlines as well as airports to appeal to the Competition Commission.

The Bill’s provisions granting publication duties to the CAA in respect of all airports is also welcome. These days, transparency is essential; customers rightly want it, and airlines should welcome it too. The CAA must promote better information on customer service and environmental effects. No one disputes that the airline industry stands on the front line in the war against carbon emissions, but we must recognise the achievements of the industry in our country: the airline industry in Britain is at the forefront of addressing climate change and environmental protection. In that regard, it is better than any airline industry in any other country. Before we burden our industry with yet more regulation, we must pause to acknowledge its achievements in this field. Naturally, the information about airlines should be comparable and fair, but the move to transparency is certainly a step in the right direction.

I think that the transfering of security regulation from the Department for Transport to the CAA is a good thing. Obviously, details will have to be refined and clarified and in many cases things will have to evolve, such as how the structure will work, but it is quite right that a Government who have made decentralisation one of their guiding principles should delegate responsibility in this regard. There is a view that such a move is simply a way of reducing Government costs, but in my view it is quite right so to empower the CAA, although more details will have to be supplied.

Clearly, this is only Second Reading, so I am happy to support the Bill at this stage, but there are wider issues of concern. The CAA is the only major economic regulator for which the National Audit Office has no real remit, as has been mentioned, so there should be an explicit duty for the CAA to act in an efficient manner. That, indeed, was what the Transport Committee found.

More broadly, we must be very careful as regulation in civil aviation throws up the important issue of regulatory costs. If Britain’s aviation industry is to thrive, it is clear that we should not impose too many or too onerous burdens on our businesses that operate in the field. Not only are financial burdens onerous, but a more complex regulatory environment can pose its own problems. The CAA already charges airports a small levy for every arriving passenger, from which source of finance it seeks to undertake its functions. Those charges are set to increase by a third in April 2012 and it is apparent that the provisions in the Bill might add to it costs for airports. Given the increase in air passenger duty, we are in danger of burdening the industry with ever more costs, impeding its ability to drive the economic growth we all keenly anticipate.

This is Second Reading, however, and I am quite happy to support the Government at this stage. I only hope that more details can be thrashed out and considered in Committee and on Report.