My Lords, before the vote we were discussing the banned airlines list. As I said, we will aim to keep the UK list consistent with the EU list, as far as possible. Those decisions on operating bans will be based on advice from the CAA. The method of enforcing that ban will be the same as it is today: the withdrawal of a permit or operating licence. There may be instances where the UK lists will need to deviate: if we have evidence that an airline does not meet international standards, we may want to prohibit it flying to the UK and add it to the UK list, even if the airline is still permitted to fly to the EU. We are working closely on implementing that list. There may be some resource implications, but we expect to be able to use existing resources within the CAA. As with all these things, we very much hope that we will be able to maintain close co-operation with the EU and maintain the same list.
The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, raised the issue of the single European sky. We have already discussed the statutory instrument on air traffic management, and we absolutely recognise the need for our air traffic arrangements to remain in line with the rest of Europe. Safe and efficient air traffic management is a priority for us, and we will continue to work with European partners on it.
The new delegated powers were raised by all noble Lords. As I said, the draft instrument gives us delegated powers to make regulations, subject to negative resolution parliamentary procedures. The powers relate to the amendment or adoption of detailed technical requirements, which need to be updated regularly to reflect technical developments, changes to international
standards, recommendations arising from accident investigations and so on. As the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, pointed out, these changes come thick and fast. This reflects existing UK practice, where the technical requirements for aviation safety are contained in secondary legislation made using the negative resolution procedure and the fact that the EU requirements were adopted under Commission implementing regulations.
The draft instrument contains a power for the Secretary of State to amend the essential requirements contained in the annexes to the EASA basic regulation by making regulations subject to the negative power. These very limited powers are designed to ensure that the regulatory system can adapt to technical developments and changes to international standards adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization to ensure a continued high level of safety. I understand the noble Baroness’s concern about consultation involving the CAA. We will of course always base these decisions on advice from the CAA, but the powers are very limited and relate only to adopting international standards, which we will continue to follow.
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On CAA resourcing, the CAA is already responsible for many of the responsibilities, including licensing and oversight of a significant proportion of the UK aviation sector. However, the CAA will be taking on some work from EASA, which requires additional resources. It currently estimates that it will need 53 additional people, which has come down from 59, and 50 of those people are in place. The CAA is content that it is ready, should we leave without a deal. In line with the “user pays” principle, these costs will be funded through charges on industry. New charges arising from the transferred functions will mainly affect UK manufacturers and organisations based in third countries, including EU member states. The CAA will endeavour to keep those charges as low as possible. The CAA estimates that the cost of taking on new functions and responsibilities will be around £3 million for 2019-20 and £3.6 million in 2020-21. As I said, these costs will be recovered by charges to the organisations concerned, whether they are based overseas or in the UK.
On pilot licences, all pilot licences issued by EASA or EU or EEA states prior to exit day will remain valid if they were valid immediately before exit day. The instrument provides that such licences are to be treated as if they were issued by the CAA. However, in order to meet our obligations under the Chicago convention, pilots holding such licences who want to fly UK-registered aircraft will need to obtain the licence validation mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson. This will be available free of charge, and the draft instrument limits the validity of licences to a maximum of two years after exit day, after which a CAA-issued licence will be required. A general validation will be issued by the CAA immediately after the SI enters into force. It will be downloadable from the website. I am afraid we still do not know how many people will be affected, as non-UK EASA licence holders are not currently required to notify the CAA when flying UK-registered aircraft. We have set this out in technical notices and we are
working very closely with industry to make sure that this information is being given to pilots. We are trying to make the system for getting this licence validation as free and quick as possible.
The other part about licences regards holders of UK licences who need to transfer their licences to EASA in order to operate EU-registered aircraft. The CAA is working on that. We opened applications in January. As of 11 March, we have received over 4,500 applications. All applications which were put in at the right time will be completed before exit day.
On consultation and industry engagement, as the noble Baroness pointed out, the Explanatory Memorandum says that we have regular engagement with industry stakeholders. We also work with union representatives; those from BALPA were included in this engagement. The CAA was closely involved in identifying the corrections to EU legislation contained in this instrument. Stakeholders are very supportive of this draft instrument. It would provide continuity through maintaining the current technical standards and requirements. We published a technical notice in September to inform the industry and the public of the actions we are taking, and the CAA website has a microsite dedicated to EU exit, which provides information and advice. The EU and EASA have also published regular updates on the implications of a no-deal Brexit and guidance for those affected.