§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in the light of the prediction by the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority that substantial increases in charges to airlines are contemplated, he has considered alternative ways of financing the Civil Aviation Authority.
§ Mr. TebbitUnder the Eurocontrol charging arrangements—for United Kingdom airspace traffic services—the CAA is obliged to charge below the economic cost. I hope that the parties to the Eurocontrol agreement will accept that these arrangements should be changed so that the taxpayer will no longer subsidise the air transport user. As regards the CAA's other major operations,100W it aims to charge the full cost of its services to users plus a reasonable return on capital employed. If users of air transport do not pay the full cost of these services, the burden would fall on the taxpayer.