HL Deb 16 July 1982 vol 433 cc571-2

11.12 a.m.

The Earl of Kinnoull

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the deep concern at the size of the annual charge of the Meteorological Service (£13.6 million in 1980–81) that is passed on to the civil aviation industry by the Civil Aviation Authority, they will publish a report following the current review of this service showing how annual costs are made up; and whether consideration will be given to the use of alternative competitive services by the industry.

The Earl of Avon

My Lords, the Meteorological Office is included in the Government's programme of resource control reviews. This review is now in progress. There will be consultation with the Ministry of Defence, Department of Trade, the Civil Aviation Authority and civil operators. While the industry is, of course, free to explore other services, the Civil Aviation Authority needs a central forecasting service and the costs of it have to be recovered.

The Earl of Kinnoull

My Lords, I am grateful, and I am sure the House is grateful, to my noble friend for his many Answers this morning. Can my noble friend say when this internal report will be likely to be completed, and when it will be published?

The Earl of Avon

My Lords, it is expected that the findings of the review will be made public. No firm date can be given at this stage, but it is likely to be published before the end of the year.

Baroness Burton of Coventry

My Lords, may I ask the noble Earl two questions arising from that? Am I correct in my understanding that Mr. Ian Sproat has asked Mr. John Dent, the new chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, to conduct a review into the functions of the Civil Aviation Authority? If that is correct, as I believe it is, would it be the case that the matter referred to by the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, will be included in that review?

The Earl of Avon

My Lords, indeed, there is the other review in progress, and I am sure they will include this kind of issue.

The Earl of Kinnoull

My Lords, could my noble friend say whether in future the Met Office will be able to give a breakdown of figures when charging the aviation industry as it does?

The Earl of Avon

My Lords, I am not sure whether they can give a breakdown of figures, but it may be of interest to the House to know that the total out-turn budget for the year in question was £54 million, so that the proportion paid by the CAA was not all that large. Some two years ago the Treasury looked into this issue and, as I understand it, both parties were happy with the result.

Lord Bruce of Donington

My Lords, can the noble Lord give the House information as to whether this £13 million charge was a negotiated charge between both parties or whether it was arbitrarily imposed? It is important that the House should be able to distinguish between the two arrangements.

The Earl of Avon

My Lords, when there was a little difficulty two years ago, the Department of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority were expressing disquiet about charges. The Treasury examined the method of calculating this element of the charge and they concluded that it was reasonable and, indeed, that it was difficult to visualise a fairer approach.