Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to bring forward an independent review on the (a) economic, (b) safety, (c) privacy and (d) environmental impacts of the proposed expansion in domestic drone use for (i) civil, (ii) military, (iii) commercial and (iv) other purposes.

The Department is currently considering recommendations from two separate independent reports from the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) in November 2021 and the Taskforce on Innovation Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) in May 2021. These independent reports reviewed domestic drone use.

In addition, the Department is currently consulting on the future of flight that includes domestic drone use. This builds on the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021 that included provisions to ensure safe drone use. The future of flight consultation will close on 22 November 2021 and will give consideration of the responses, alongside the recommendations of the reports, to develop a legislative and regulatory framework to allow for wider market and public use of new aviation technology (including drones) in a safe, secure and sustainable way.