§ 2.40 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether their attention has been drawn to the report in the issue of The Log, the official journal of the British Airline Pilots' Association, for May 1951, criticising the meteorological forecasting on the North Atlantic route.]
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE DUCHY OF LANCASTER (VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGH)My Lords, the criticisms to which the noble Earl refers concern forecasts of terminal conditions at aerodromes outside the United Kingdom, and by international regulations a forecast for a terminal airfield is prepared by the meteorological service of the country responsible for the airfield.
§ THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, while thanking the noble Viscount for his reply, may I ask him, first, whether this does not refer also to Shannon, in respect of which we have some agreement in the Irish Treaty; and secondly, whether His Majesty's Government have not a responsibility to operating companies in this country to ensure that those operating companies shall have the best possible information available?
VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGHMy Lords, if there is a complaint it should be sent to the countries concerned. I have forgotten the 935 numbers of the appropriate I.C.A.O. regulations, but the matter could be taken up, and, so far as I know, no such complaint has been sent up to date with regard to any of the operations affected by the forecast referred to. That is all the information we have, and it would be unsatisfactory to take up matters on the basis of an article where no actual record is available of any official complaint having been made.
§ LORD BALFOUR OF INCHRYEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Viscount whether the Minister is aware that com-plaints have been received from pilots as to meteorological forecasts in this country; and secondly, whether he is satisfied that all is well in the meteorological forecast world at the present time?
VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGHMy Lords, there was a departmental inquiry not long ago into the state of our own meteorological forecasts. It disclosed nothing fundamentally wrong with the existing system, but the whole matter is subject to continual effort to effect improvements. Therefore, my answer to the second part of the noble Lord's question is that, whilst we are reasonably satisfied that the position is satisfactory, we are keeping constantly under review the experience gained to see whether any improvements can be carried out.
§ THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, does not the noble Viscount think that this report itself might have been the subject of some analysis by the meteorological authorities? The report states, I believe, on behalf of the reliable B.O.A.C. pilot that the meteorological information is most inadequate and thoroughly un-reliable. Are not those remarks rather disturbing? Does not the noble Viscount consider it possible that an inquiry might show that the status of the Meteorological Services is not adequately recognised at the present time.
VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGHI do not quite know what the noble Earl expects the Department to do. Here is an anonymous article referring to flights and forecasts upon dates unnamed. It seemed to me that there is a contradiction within the article itself, and if we are to make inquiries on the basis of such articles, it seems to me that 936 we shall never be finished in our inquiries and shall never get a satisfactory answer.
§ VISCOUNT SWINTONMy Lords, I do not want to prolong this discussion. I agree, if I may respectfully say so, with what the noble Viscount has said. General criticism is an impossible thing to inquire into. On the other hand, one can test the efficacy of the Meteorological Service only by individual experience and individual complaints.
§ VISCOUNT SWINTONI feel that the noble Viscount is right, and that it is the business of a company, if they find the service faulty on any occasion, to bring any defect to the attention of the Ministry. But in the interests of both the air lines' safety and the Meteorological Service itself, will the Ministry of Civil Aviation make sure that the air lines do recognise that it is not only their right but their duty to report promptly to the Ministry individual cases of failure, or believed failure, so that they can be investigated? I am sure that would be the right thing to do.
VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HTLLS-BOROUGHI am sure that it would be quite the right thing to do to bring the noble Viscount's remarks to the notice of the Ministry for consideration as to whether anything further needs to be done at the present time. But perhaps, in view of the point raised, it might be as well to put on record in Hansard in your Lordships' House a fact that ought to be known by every pilot reporting to his company. I quote now from I.C.A.O. document No. 5714, which states categorically:
Complaints regarding meteorological services made by operating companies should be made to the Meteorological Service of the State in which the company is registered, which will take the necessary action. When this procedure involves considerable delay, complaints may be made directly by the company to the Meteorological Service concerned, and the Meteorological Service of the company's State informed simultaneously.In view of the noble Viscount's last remark, I am sure that a complaint by any company in this country who suffered the kind of thing complained of in this anonymous article would be very carefully considered and taken up by the Air Ministry.
§ THE EARL OF SELKIRKMay I thank the noble Viscount for his further explanation? Perhaps he can let us know whether any use had been made of this procedure, because it is disturbing to hear of things of this sort.
VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGHI will ask the Air Ministry to let me have some examples, if possible, where complaints have been made by British operating companies. If there is anything in the complaints I will send details to the noble Earl.