§ 40. Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will support the official proposal of the United States Federal Aviation Agency for international agreement on a reduction in permitted aircraft noise levels to 80 effective perceived noise decibels.
§ Mr. William RodgersThere is no proposal for international agreement on this basis. The F.A.A. has published draft domestic legislation in the form of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in which 80 EPNdB is referred to as an objective to aim for and to achieve where economically reasonable, technologically practicable and appropriate for the particular type design. The N.P.R.M. states that the objective is not appropriate for many current type designs and it is the case that no large jet aircraft, using any present technology, can be made as quiet as this.
§ 47. Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the number of years it will take to achieve a significant reduction in nuisance from aircraft noise.
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§ Mr. William RodgersIt is not possible to make a comprehensive estimate of this kind. Noise is being reduced by quieter operating procedures and by the progressive introduction of quieter aircraft, but traffic, and hence number of movements, is growing.
§ 57. Mr. Braineasked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to receive the report of the investigation into the effects of aircraft noise in the vicinity of Heathrow Airport which was begun in 1967; and whether that report will be made available to the public.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe amount of work involved in this important sociological study is proving greater than was foreseen, and I regret that the full results will not be available for some time. We intend to publish a report.
§ 61. Mr. Blenkinsopasked the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made in negotiations with other European countries to include acceptable levels of aircraft noise as a requirement for the licensing of aircraft using European airports.
§ Mr. William RodgersAs the London International Conference on Aircraft Noise in 1966 recognised, action on noise certification for aircraft lies, in the first instance, with the major aircraft manufacturing countries. We are in close touch with the French authorities, as well as those of the United States, and hope to have technical talks with the Germans and Netherlands authorities, among others, before the matter is considered in I.C.A.O.
§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to reduce the infringements of the limits of take-off noise by jet aircraft using Gatwick Airport, especially at night.
§ Mr. William RodgersInfringements are taken up with the airlines concerned with a view to discovering the cause and securing appropriate remedial action for the future. Noise monitoring was introduced at Gatwick less than twelve months ago and based on our experience at Heathrow, we expect the infringement rate to fall progressively as pilots gain experience of the techniques involved.
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§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now impose noise monitoring for aircraft coming in to land at Gatwick Airport.
§ Mr. William RodgersWe hope to have facilities at Gatwick this summer for sample height monitoring of aircraft coming in to land.
§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is now taking to achieve agreement on international controls to reduce aircraft noise to tolerable levels.
§ Mr. William RodgersI would refer the hon. Member to my Answer today to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow).
§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to assist British manufacturers to make progress in bringing into operation quieter aero engines.
§ Mr. William RodgersClose co-operation is maintained between the Government and aircraft manufacturers on research—including Government sponsored research—into quietening aero engines; and there is also regular consultation on proposals relating to aircraft noise certification.
§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the President of the Board of Trade how many householders in the Heathrow area had, by 31st December, 1968, received grants for soundproofing against aircraft noise; and what percentage this represents of houses qualifying for such grants.
§ Mr. William RodgersAt 31st December, 1968, applications for approval of proposed insulation works had been received in respect of 3,541 dwellings; approval had been given for 2,445 dwellings; and grants had been claimed and paid in respect of 1,537 dwellings, representing about 2½ per cent. of those eligible.