§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they expect privatisation of the National Air Traffic Control network to reduce safety standards. [HL4243]
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)No. Safety is the overriding priority of the Government's proposals for a PPP for National Air Traffic Services Ltd (NATS). Establishing the PPP will make a positive contribution to aviation safety by separating safety regulation from service provision—something airspace users, the Parliamentary Select Committee and the former Monopolies and Mergers Commission have long recommended—and by ensuring that NATS has access to investment capital outside the bounds of government financial controls.
Safety regulation will remain in the public sector under the Civil Aviation Authority, which has wide-ranging powers to regulate aviation safety and ample experience of regulating private sector organisations.