§ 109. Mr. Keelingasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation whether he will direct that Government Departments shall, like private passengers, pay a fine when the notice of cancellation of seats booked for their staff in outgoing aircraft is too short for the seats to be filled.
§ Mr. LindgrenAs I informed the hon. Member on 4th December, the proportion of seats booked for members of Government Departments is very small and, as it very rarely happens that one of these is cancelled too late to be resold, I am satisfied that the number of such cancellations would not have been reduced if a system of fines had been in force. Moreover, in present circumstances any fines paid by Government Departments in respect of such cancellations would merely reducepro tanto the deficiency grants received by the corporations from the Exchequer. As from 1st April next year, however, the corporations will be financed under the Civil Aviation Act, 1946, by predetermined grants and in these circumstances the question of whether Government Departments should pay fines clearly requires reconsideration. In consultation with my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, I am accordingly reconsidering the whole question.