§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in the light of published international statistics, he will make a statement about the relative safety levels of United Kingdom airlines and those of other States with major airline industries, and about the change in safety level of the United Kingdom industry since 1962.
§ Mr. OnslowInternational statistics are available only for scheduled operations, the most recent being those published by ICAO for 1971; these indicated that the safety level of United Kingdom scheduled operations continued as in many previous years to be above the world average. While there can be no complacency about the matter a significant improvement in safety has been achieved by the United Kingdom airline industry over the past decade, and it is notable that the safety level of nonscheduled operations is now comparable to that of scheduled operations.