HL Deb 24 January 1991 vol 525 cc327-8

3.2 p.m.

Baroness Burton of Coventry asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether at the meeting of the European Community Council of Transport Ministers on 17th-18th December 1990 it was agreed that there should be a further if informal meeting to discuss the slot allocation proposals of the Commission prior to action being proposed at the forthcoming meeting on 27th March.

The Minister of State, Department of Transport (Lord Brabazon of Tara)

My Lords, the Commission's slot allocation proposals were not discussed at the EC Transport Council last December. However, I understand that the Commission has now agreed a draft regulation on slot allocation, and this will be sent shortly to member states. The proposal will then be discussed fully by the Council of Ministers and its working groups. It is too early to say whether Ministers will discuss it at their meeting on 27th March.

Baroness Burton of Coventry

My Lords, as the problem of slot allocation is a vital one for the future of our aviation industry, especially considering the recommendations made by the CAA yesterday, is the Minister able to give the House any indication of when he expects the draft regulation to be circulated to member states? Can he also give the House any help about the Government's own slot allocation consultancy?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

Yes, my Lords. The Commission's proposals should be circulated in the next two or three weeks. As regards the Government's own slot allocation consultancy, the consultants have recently completed stage one of the work. The Government see the work of the consultants as a valuable contribution to the debate within Europe about slot allocation methods.

Lord Boyd-Carpenter

My Lords, can my noble friend make it clear that there is no intention on the part of the Government to hand over the allocation of the slots from British authorities to European ones?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, at the moment the allocation of slots is not made by the Government but by the scheduling committees of the various airports themselves. I believe that the Commission's proposals make arrangements for new entrants particularly if they are to come into the market. We welcome the principle of the proposal, but there is a great deal of detail that needs to be sorted out.

Lord Clinton-Davis

My Lords, in the light of current difficulties being experienced by major United States carriers, does the Minister agree that at this stage the wrong signal should not be sent about the possibility of making slot allocations to new carriers, in place perhaps of Pan Am and even TWA, before any question of concessions is sought from the United States' authorities which would enable much greater freedom of the skies by British and other carriers in the United States?

Lord Brabazon of Tara

My Lords, the noble Lord is quite right. We are in negotiation with the United States Government at the present time. We had a round last week and there is another next week. That is more concerned with the traffic distribution rules on which the CAA's advice was published only the day before yesterday.

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