§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many travel agents in the United Kingdom operate under(a) ATOL, (b) IATA and (c) ABTA. [40850]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonTravel agents in the UK are not required to hold Air Travel Organisers' Licences. However, some travel agents do hold ATOLs because, as well as being agents, they also act as travel organiser principals. There are 1,740 ATOL holders at present but we are unable to say how many of these also undertake agency business. Information obtained from IATA and ABTA indicates that the number of travel agent members of these organisations is presently 1,548 and 2,330 respectively.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the operation of ATOL. [40851]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) scheme was introduced in 1972 to protect air passengers in the event of the failure of a tour operator by ensuring the availability of funds to repatriate passengers stranded abroad and reimburse those who had paid for their holidays but had yet to travel. The scheme is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority under the Civil Aviation (Air Travel Organisers' Licensing) Regulations 1995, as amended in 1996 and 1997.
To hold an ATOL, a travel organiser must put up a bond and satisfy certain financial fitness criteria established by the CAA. The bond is determined according to the projected level of turnover and the nature and risk of the business. In the event of failure the CAA may call in the bond to provide funds to repatriate and reimburse customers of the failed operator. If the bond proves insufficient to cover the liabilities a back-up fund, called the Air Travel Trust Fund (ATTF), is available to meet any shortfall.
The ATOL scheme operates effectively to protect passengers and the bond levels imposed by the CAA are generally sufficient to cover the majority of failures. Although the CAA monitors carefully the performance of ATOL holders, unpredictable and sometimes very large failures do occasionally occur.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for changes in the regulation of travel agents by the Civil Aviation Authority. [40852]
329W
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Civil Aviation Authority does not regulate travel agents. This is a matter for consideration by the Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the total value of the bonds held by the CAA under the ATOL scheme; and what plans he has to raise the level of the ATOL bond. [40853]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe total value of bonds held by the CAA under the ATOL scheme is £1.3 billion. Bond levels are an operations matter for the CAA but I am advised that they have no plans to increase the level of bond.