Contents
SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Date
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Parliamentary News
Government News
House of Commons Questions
Media News
SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Date
6 March 2014
Meetings are held at Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, location map.
Regional News
1 December 2014 – The Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport Mr John Holland-Kaye has announced plans to extend its property compensation scheme should an additional runway be built at the airport. In May it announced plans for 25 per cent above ‘unblighted’ market value compensation for 750 homes that would be subject to compulsory purchase. Following a consultation Heathrow Airport Limited is now proposing to extend this offer to cover home that will be in close proximity to a new runway but will not be compulsorily purchased. The proposal is in response to feedback at public consultations between July 21 and October 12 this year. The offer is subject to regulatory approval by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Approximately 3,750 homeowners’ properties would be eligible for compensation under the revised scheme.
3 December 2014 – The airline operator Air India’s new daily flight programme between Birmingham Airport and Delhi and Amritsar will commence later this month. The carrier is due to take delivery of its 18th Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft enabling the service to commence on December 21.
3 December 2014 – Development work on Gatwick Airport’s railway station is due to begin in 2017. Network Rail and the airport have announced they will each contribute £30m to the project. In December 2013, the Government said it would provide £50m, subject to funding from the airport. In The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the Government announced it would ‘take forward a package of measures to improve surface access to Gatwick Airport’. The concourse at the railway station will be doubled size, with more escalators and lifts to the platforms, with work due to be completed by 2020, the airport has said.
4 December 2014 – A community group in the Wyshenshawe area of Manchester have complained to Manchester Airport about the use of 24-hour lighting at a new 9,000 space car park. Members of the Moss Nook Residents Association claim they were promised adequate screening from the 450 light pillars which surround the perimeter. But they claim screening is inadequate and many lamp-posts are too high. The group argues that this means many of the 150 residents who live around the site on Shadow Moss Road, Ringway Road, Trenchard Drive and Styal Road have lights shining into their homes all night.
5 December 2014 – Manchester Airport station is to close for improvement works between 11 and 12 January 2015. During this time only two of the three platforms will be open, and the station will then close to all trains until February 9.
5 December 2014 – A new link road and improved bus links between Bradford Interchange and Leeds Bradford Airport are some of the preferred options laid out in a Government feasibility study into making the airport more accessible. A tram/train link between the city centre and the airport at Yeadon has initially been ruled out of any plans to improve airport connectivity due to cost. The predicted cost of the road would be £38 million with a further £7m spent on the new bus routes.
6 December 2014 – The first flight non-stop direct flight to China will take off from Manchester on Monday 8 December.
Industry News
1 December 2014 – Heathrow Airport has published the report, ‘Blueprint for noise reduction, Ten practical steps to cut noise by summer 2015’.
1 December 2014 – British Airways has announced a new partnership with Heathrow Express and First Great Western, allowing customers to buy single tickets incorporating their flights and rail journeys. From 5 December 2014 passengers will be able to book through-tickets to and from 11 First Great Western stations, as well as the Heathrow Express service from London Paddington, onto flights from Heathrow Airport.
2 December 2014 – Sustainable Aviation (SA), a coalition of the UK’s airlines, airports, manufacturers and air navigation service provider NATS, has launched its latest Road-Map, which considers the opportunities for sustainable aviation fuels. The map identifies the potential for a 24 per cent reduction in aviation carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and the generation of £265 million in economic value plus the creation of 4400 jobs in the UK over the next 15 years. However SA says Government support will be vital to achieve this potential, and the document identifies and forecasts the potential volumes of sustainable aviation fuel to 2050, both for the UK and globally. It highlights the possible contribution such fuels can make to supporting the decarbonisation of the UK economy, the opportunities for job creation and economic growth as well as the viability of the market for producers, refiners and investors.
3 December 2014 – The airline operator Lufthansa has announced plans for its new low-cost, long-haul division. The new carrier will take the Eurowings branding and be operated by SunExpress Deutschland. The latter will provide the cockpit and cabin crew. Eurowings will be based in Cologne and begin operations towards the end of next year with a fleet of three A330-200 twin jets configured for 310 passengers. Eurowings’ plan is to eventually increase the fleet size to seven A330-200s.
3 December 2014 – Work has begun on a £12m scheme which could see passenger services return to Carlisle Lake District Airport. Earlier this year Carlisle Council approved plans by Stobart Air to redevelop the city’s airport. The initial phase of the project will see the construction of a freight distribution centre, but the company also plans to reintroduce passenger services, with direct links to London and Dublin.
5 December 2014 – Air traffic control service NATS has dropped its court action to block Gatwick Airport from concluding a deal with German rival DFS to provide tower services. The contest to provide services at the airport until 2025 represents the largest UK airport to consider handing its air traffic services to a non-English provider and in July it was announced that DFS had been successful in its bid for their services. On 2 October NATS was granted an injunction after a judge supported what the business insisted were legitimate concerns over the way the contract was awarded – its main complaint was over information provided by Gatwick Airport outlining the basis of the contract award. NATS complained that this did not amount to a full explanation which left it with no option but to pursue the matter through the courts. Gatwick Airport has always defended its decision which followed an ‘extensive’ tender process. It stated at the time that the proposal submitted by DFS was considered superior to submissions from all other contenders based on a range of criteria which included safety, innovation, airport management, technical capability, cost, resilience and the ability to accommodate the requirements of a growing airport.
European News
4 December 2014 – The Council of the European Union has reached a general approach on the two proposals of the Single European Sky (SES) II+ package: to speed up the implementation of the Single European Sky (SES proposal) and to amend rules for the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA proposal). The proposals are intended to make the European air transport system less fragmented and more competitive. Launched in 2004, the Single European Sky initiative aims to reform the organisation and management of European airspace. It is intended to overcome the fragmentation of the airspace, to make air traffic services more efficient and to optimise the use of air traffic management capacity. The Council said straighter flight paths and greater co-operation ‘should make flying even safer, cut costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions’.
Parliamentary News
- Page 8 the Government pledge to reduce ‘travel costs for families by exempting children flying economy from Air Passenger Duty: under-12s from 1 May 2015 and under-16s from 1 March 2016’.
- Page 32 the Government confirm that APD will ‘be fully devolved’ to the Scottish Government’.
- Page 57 the Government lay out detail for APD changes and pricing regulations – ‘The Government will exempt children under 12 from Air Passenger Duty on economy tickets with effect from 1 May 2015, and will extend the exemption to include children under 16 from 1 March 2016. This will help to reduce the cost of holidays for families by up to £71 per child.
This announcement builds on the changes announced at Budget 2014, which reduced the cost of flying to countries over 4,000 miles from London, and froze short-haul Air Passenger Duty. Together, these changes mean that 99 per cent of passengers will see a freeze or cut in Air.
Passenger Duty in 2015-16 – The Government believes that these tax changes should be clear and visible to consumers. The Government will therefore consult on an amendment to pricing regulations which would require airlines to separate out Air Passenger Duty from their other fees and charges’.
Reaction – The Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls (Morley and Outwood, Labour) responded to the Statement by saying that his party would ‘support what The Chancellor has proposed on APD’ but questioned him on the Smith Commission’s devolution of APD to Scotland asking whether the Government will work with Scotland to ensure changed to APD in Scotland will not negatively affect England.
Conservative MP Mark Menzies asked if the devolution of Air Passenger Duty (APD) would mean that any changes in revenue would be covered by the UK or Scottish Governments. In reply, Ms Bates said that the equivalent revenue change in Scotland would be adjusted for through the block grant. She noted that Holyrood would be able to vary the tax as it wished.
Mr Menzies asked if the devolution of APD to Scotland would be detrimental to airports in the north of England. ‘The transfer of the tax would not cause detriment […] We got huge representations [from civil society] to reduce or abolish APD’, Lord Smith said. He agreed that the Scottish Parliament could create a different tax regime after the power had been transferred. Pressed further by Mr Menzies over modelling on the future use of APD, Ms Bates said that no such work had been done because the Smith Commission had been focused on the transfer of powers. The Commission would want to see greater scrutiny of the fiscal decisions taken by the Scottish Parliament, she said. Lord Smith said that APD was a ‘significant tax’ and the Scottish Parliament would need to assess the impact of any change in revenue.
Later, responding to a question from the Chair over the decision to keep pensions as a reserved matter, Lord Smith said that it had been agreed before deciding to keep National Insurance Contributions as a reserved matter.
Government News
1 December 2014 – The Government has published the ‘Road Investment Strategy’, setting out their long-term vision for the UK’s motorways and major roads. By developing the road network The Strategy sets out how it will also aim to improve surface access to some airports including – the M1 Junction 24 connecting Derby, Stoke, Birmingham, and East Midlands Airport and the M23 ‘Smart Motorway’ which it is hoped will provide improved access to Gatwick airport. The Government have also published a static map and an interactive map of the roads to be developed. The following links also outline major road investments in six different areas of England: London and the South East; East of England; Midlands; North East and Yorkshire; North west; and South west.
1 December 2014 – The Government have published ‘Determination by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change of the 2015 carbon price under regulation 49 of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012’. The statement has been made by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change under regulation 49 of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2012. This Determination is to enable the regulator to calculate a number of civil penalties for non-compliance with the EU ETS in 2015.
2 December 2014 – The Government has published its National Infrastructure Plan 2014. This document shows the Government’s progress on delivery and sets out its long-term plans for UK infrastructure. The plan also shows progress on its ’Top 40 priority infrastructure investments’, to support delivery of its objectives in each sector.
The Delivery Plan for aviation states that: ‘There is significant private-sector investment planned to improve capacity at airports across the UK between now and 2020. The Government will also be taking action to support better use of existing airport capacity and, through the Airports Commission, to ensure future needs are met’.
The Plans Key actions to 2020 are: ‘The Airports Commission has now published its interim report and is currently consulting on its assessment of proposals for additional runway capacity at Gatwick and Heathrow airports. The Commission will publish its final report in summer 2015. The Commission’s analysis will be used to inform government decisions in summer 2015 on future airport capacity in the South East which will include how powers for any new runway could be delivered’.
The Government stated that they ‘will continue to take action to make better use of existing airport capacity, including through a package of surface access measures for international gateways’:
- the new Roads Investment Strategy includes plans for a comprehensive upgrade of the M42 Junction 6 near Birmingham airport, allowing better movement of traffic on and off the A45, supporting access to the airport and preparing capacity for the new HS2 station
- Western Rail Access to Heathrow, to provide a direct service from Reading, will commence enabling works in 2017, subject to feasibility
- Network Rail is producing a feasibility study into options on Southern Rail Access to Heathrow, to report its findings in 2015
- Network Rail is consulting on extending the scope of the East Anglian Mainline study to include access to Stansted and will report findings in 2015
- Network Rail is looking at capacity on the Brighton Mainline as part of the Route Study for Sussex on which it is currently consulting
In total, there is £6.1 billion of planned investment in UK airports and air traffic control, between now and the end of the decade. Both Heathrow and Gatwick airports, regulated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, have significant investment plans as part of the sixth quinquennium regulatory period which started on 1 April 2014 for both airports, and will run until 31 December 2018 for Heathrow and until 31 March 2021 for Gatwick.
2 December 2014 – The Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill has summarised items on the EU Transport Council: agenda for 3 December 2014, including a debate on transport infrastructure and discussions about a single European sky regulation. The full transcript of his summary is shown below.
‘I will attend the last Transport Council under the Italian Presidency (the Presidency) taking place in Brussels on Wednesday 3 December 2014.
The first item on the agenda will be a public debate on the draft council conclusions on transport infrastructure and the Trans European Network. The UK has worked constructively with like-minded member states to help the Italian Presidency develop these conclusions which seek to align transport with the EU 2020 strategy by recognising the value that investment in building and operating transport infrastructure and creating efficient networks can bring to growth and jobs. The UK will support the adoption of the conclusions as drafted.
Secondly, the council will be asked to agree in principle a proposed council decision authorising member states to sign the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel, of the International Maritime Organisation. This is a procedural decision giving member states permission to accede to the convention. It is necessary due to union competence over the mutual recognition of the qualifications of fishing vessel personnel by virtue of Directive 2005/36/EC (which provides for mutual recognition across a range of professions). Some aspects of the decision as originally proposed were unacceptable to the UK, for example the use of inappropriate legal bases and a general lack of clarity over the scope of relevant competence. Through negotiation the UK has secured significant improvements to the decision and the UK is now content with the text to be agreed at Transport Council.
The Presidency will aim for a general approach on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the council on the implementation of the single European sky (SES). The UK has been working hard with the Italian Presidency and other member states to secure our objectives on this regulation. As a result I am pleased to say that we secured redrafting which has resolved the vast majority of concerns we had on this proposal. In terms of Gibraltar, our firm position is that it is part of the EU and must remain in the scope of EU aviation legislation such as SES I expect further discussions to take place on this issue during the council meeting.
Next on the agenda is a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the council amending Regulation (EC) 216/2008 in the field of aerodromes, air traffic management and air navigation facilities. This proposal is part of a package with the Single European Sky (SES II+) Regulation and transfers some SES provisions into the European Aviation Safety Authority system in order to simplify and clarify the regulation framework for the safety of air traffic management. As such we were very supportive and had just a few concerns which we have been able to resolve. We are therefore ready to support this proposal.
After this will be a progress report on the proposal to amend Directive 2012/34 establishing a single European railway area, as regards the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail and the governance of the railway infrastructure, and the related proposal to amend Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 concerning the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail. The government supports the Presidency on their progress report, which is a very thorough summary of discussions to date. The suggestions for future options form an excellent foundation and mean that an agreement on the market pillar is now within reach of future Presidencies. It is important that the remaining barriers to the single market in rail services are addressed.
There will then be a general approach on the proposal to repeal Regulation 1192/69 on common rules for the normalisation of the accounts of railway undertakings. The UK supports the repeal of this regulation which has become outdated and inconsistent with more recent EU railway legislation. It is a welcome example of legislative simplification and deregulation.
Under any other business, the commission will provide information on EU satellite navigation programmes. The Presidency will provide information on the recent European Aviation Safety Authority event on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. The Lithuanian delegation will provide information on the road transport situation in the context of detailed inspections of Lithuanian vehicles recently introduced by Russian authorities. Also, the Latvian delegation will provide information on the work programme of their forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union’.
House of Commons Questions
McCrea, W – Assessment of air passenger duty on tourism
2 December 2014
Dr William McCrea (South Antrim, Democratic Unionist Party): To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of air passenger duty on tourism in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.
Priti Patel (Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Witham, Conservative): I refer the Hon. Member to the answers that the previous Financial Secretary to the Treasury gave to the Hon. Member for Belfast South on 7 April 2014 – Column 16W, the Hon. Member for East Londonderry on 7 July 2014 – Column 120W, and the answer given to the Hon. Member for Bury South on 22 July 2014 – Column 1094W:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140707/text/140707w0005.htm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmhansrd/cm140722/text/140722w0003.htm
Lumley, K – Assessment of Birmingham Airport runway extension
4 December 2014
Karen Lumley (Redditch, Conservative): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of extending the runway at Birmingham Airport on regional connectivity to emerging markets.
Robert Goodwill (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Scarborough and Whitby, Conservative):The Government welcomes the investment that Birmingham Airport has made in extending its runway. The longer runway, which began operations on 22 July 2014, will allow direct long-haul flights to emerging economies, such as Brazil and China. This summer China Southern Airlines operated seasonal flights to Beijing, and I hope these and routes to other new destinations will become a permanent feature.
4 December 2014
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for the future of the UK’s long-haul regional airports of any further expansion of (a) Heathrow and (b) Gatwick airports.
Robert Goodwill: The Programme for Government rules out current airport expansion in the South East for the life of this Parliament. To ensure our long term connectivity needs can be met, this Government established the independent Airports Commission to identify and recommend to Government options for maintaining this country’s status as an international hub for aviation. Although options for expansion have been shortlisted by the Commission for further examination, its final recommendations are not due to be published until the summer of 2015. The Airports Commission has discussed and is consulting on how airports outside the South East might be affected by expansion at the shortlisted expansion options. The relevant documents are published by the Airports Commission on its website. It will be for the Government of the day to fully consider the recommendation of the Airports Commission’s final report.
Lumley, K – Competition between airports in the UK in the last 10 years
4 December 2014
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes in the level of competition between airports on the UK aviation sector in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport has not performed its own assessment of the effects of changes in the level of competition between airports on the UK aviation sector. Under the Civil Aviation Act 2012 the independent Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has a duty to act in passengers’ interests and promote competition where appropriate. To this end the CAA will economically regulate UK airports with significant market power, where the benefits of regulation outweigh the costs. As part of this the CAA assesses the level of competition between airports, where required.
Lumley, K – Assessment of the regional economic effect of UK regional airports
4 December 2014
Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the regional economic effect of (a) Birmingham Airport, (b) Manchester Airport, (c) Glasgow Airport, (d) Edinburgh Airport, (e) Newcastle Airport and (f) Bristol Airport.
Robert Goodwill: The Government’s Aviation Policy Framework, published in March 2013, recognised the contribution that airports across the UK – including all those listed by my Hon. Friend – make to the local, regional and national economies, and the important role they play in securing connectivity for local populations.
Media News
1 December 2014 – The Economist has a feature about low-cost airline carriers providing long-haul services.
3 December 2014 – Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the airline operator easyJet have welcomed today’s news in the Autumn Statement that the Chancellor of the Exhequer has announced the abolition of Air Passenger Duty (APD) for children under the age of 12 from 1st May 2015 and for children under the age of 16 the following year.
6 December 2014 – Video, photos and presentations are now available from the ‘Runways UK Regions’ in Manchester on 2 December. Attendees included Sir Howard Davies, Chair, Airports Commission, and Sir Richard Leese Leader of Manchester City Council and Chair of the Cabinet of Core Cities UK. Other speakers included: Charlie Cornish, Group Chief Executive of Manchester Airports Group; Andrew Lobbenberg, Head Of European Transport Team at HSBC (clink here to download Andrew’s slides); Charlie Cornish, Group Chief Executive of Manchester Airports Group; Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport (click here to download Gordon’s slides); and Graeme Mason, Planning and Corporate Affairs Director at Newcastle International (click here to download Graeme’s slides). Video and other media are also Airport: regional airports panel; Regional airports panel Q and A; Sir Howard Davies, Q and A; and Sir Richard Leese, Q and A.
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 1 December – 7 December
SASIG Regional & Industry News Bulletin 1 December – 7 December
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc .