§
[No. 27]
After Clause 22 insert the following new clause:
§ Annual report by Secretary of State as to notices and directions under Part II
§ "(1) The Secretary of State shall, on or before 31st January in each year, lay before each House of Parliament a report stating the number of notices served by him under section 8 and the number of directions given by him under sections 9, 10 and 11 of this Act during the period of twelve months which expired with the preceding December.
1551§ (2) Each such report shall deal separately with notices served under section 8, directions given under section 9, directions given under section 10 and directions given under section 11 of this Act, and, in relation to each of those matters, shall show separately—
- (a) the number of notices or directions which, during the period to which the report relates, were served on or given to persons as being, or as appearing to the Secretary of State to be about to become, operators of aircraft;
- (b) the number of notices or directions which during that period were served on or given to persons as being, or as appearing to the Secretary of State to be about to become, managers of aerodromes; and
- (c) the number of notices or directions which during that period were served on or given to persons as being, or as appearing to the Secretary of State to be about to become, authorities responsible for air navigation installations.
§ (3) In this section any reference to section 8, section 10 or section 11 of this Act shall be construed as including a reference to that section as applied or modified by section (Application of provisions of Part II to air navigation installations) of this Act."
§ Loan DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 27. During the earlier proceedings my noble friend, Lord Selkirk, moved an Amendment relating to Parliamentary safeguards. His Amendment would require an annual report to be made to both Houses of Parliament about notices and directions made under the Bill. Following debate on that Amendment and further discussion in the other place, my honourable friend the Minister for Aerospace and Shipping undertook to consider the form such an annual report might take. The new clause to which this Amendment relates is the Government's response to that undertaking.
Subsection (1) of the new clause provides that on or before January 31 in each year the Secretary of State shall lay before both Houses a report indicating the number of notices and directions served by him under Clauses 8, 9, 10 and 11 during the twelve months ended on the preceding December 31. Subsection (2) provides that the report shall specify separately the number of notices under Clause 8, and the number of directions under each of Clauses 9, 10 and 11 and in each case the number of notices and directions served separately on air- 1552 craft operators and aerodrome managers, and authorities responsible for air navigation installations. Subsection (3) is a technical provision to ensure references in the new clause, to be 8, 10 or 11, are construed in terms of those clauses as applied or modified by Clause 18. I beg to move.
§ Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendment.—(Lord Drumalbyn.)
THE EARL OF SELKIRKMy Lords, this meets fully the point we raised in this House. I am clad to see it. We are taking great powers under this Bill and it is right that they should be under some kind of review. I congratulate the Government on thinking that they will get the report out by January 31 for all events up to December 31. I think this is a very bold action, and I congratulate the noble Lord on undertaking this task.