§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the Civil Aviation Authority's target for the clearing of applications for the issue of licences for rotary and fixed wing private pilots; and what percentage of applications are cleared within that target. [HL4103]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)The CAA target for the clearing of applications for the issue of licences for rotary and fixed wing private pilots is an average of 10 working days from the receipt of a correct application and fee. During the previous financial year for 1998–99, the average time to issue a licence was 12.9 days and 29.1 per cent. of issues were made within 10 days. During the current financial year, the average time to issue a licence is 24.2 days and 9.9 per cent. of issues were made within 10 days.
The CAA issued an Aeronautical Information Circular (A/C 31/1999 White 351) on 11 March advising licence holders of delays in the processing of applications due to the severe impact of the implementation of JAR-FCL on service levels.
The turnaround time for completing applications has increased significantly in recent months due to a considerable increase in applications for both private and professional licences. In fact the demand for examinations alone rose by as much as 70 per cent. during the first part of the year. However the CAA are working to reduce these delays by giving top priority to the issue of licences, by making use of weekend overtime working and other measures. These measures are improving the situation and we look forward to seeing continued signs of improvement during the next few months.