§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what safety requirements are being built into the private finance initiative contract for the new air traffic control centre at Prestwick: and what assessment he has made of these requirements. [13806]
§ Mr. Bowis[holding answer 31 January 1997]: In common with all current en-route air traffic control centres, safety for the proposed new air traffic control centre at Prestwick is the responsibility of the operator—National Air Traffic Services Ltd. Operational safety at all current and future air traffic control centres is then regulated by the safety regulation group of the Civil Aviation Authority.
The NATS safety management system requires the formal assessment for safety for all systems and services supplied to NATS, irrespective of the contracting process. The safety requirements for the new Scottish centre have been fully specified and tenderers have offered full compliance with these requirements. It is NATS's 507W responsibility, as the air traffic control operator, to provide an operational safety case encompassing systems and services to the satisfaction of the regulator, SRG. In this respect, the responsibility for safety for the new air traffic control centre at Prestwick will be no different from the current major project to build the new en-route centre at Swanwick.