Aviation: Regulatory Burden

Lord Bradshaw Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord Bradshaw (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rotherwick, for having introduced this subject. I am not involved in general aviation but I welcome the Government’s commitment to the general aviation sector and the positive steps that have been taken, particularly with the help of my old friend and colleague, Andrew Haines, with whom I worked for many years. He was a career railwayman. I do not know whether that has any implications but he certainly seems to have started off very well.

One thing that I should like to take up is whether the panel is proposing to meet with the Home Office, in particular, to discuss the issues that the general aviation sector has experienced with the UK Border Force. I have some experience of dealing with the UK Border Force in international affairs. Quite frankly, it is very, very difficult to deal with. It is very unyielding and very inflexible, and I should be interested to know how any progress is being made. General aviation shares the property of being the route by which undesirable people or undesirable subjects can get into this country. In particular, I should like to hear whether there is any progress at all in that area.

The noble Earl, Lord Liverpool, covered my other question when he mentioned the need for well qualified people to fly planes, and he assured us that he himself is indeed well qualified. I look forward to the recommendations that are likely to be made by the panel. I hope that they will be adopted and will pass whatever legislative rules they have to pass in the not-too-distant future.