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Civil Aviation Bill

The amendment, which my noble friend moved in such clear terms, enables me to address in a rather more direct way the issues that arose during our discussion on the other amendments, which we eventually assimilated into the debate on Amendment No. 30. What Amendments Nos. 31, 32 and 34 have in common, as well as the amendment which we are now considering, is their suggestion that the Civil Aviation Authority should take responsibility for health and safety issues. We are opposed to that, largely because we believe that the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which regulates risks to people arising from work activities in Britain, is the legislation—and the HSE is the body—under which these matters should be considered. The Health and Safety Executive has wide scope to impose duties on employers and self-employed people to protect themselves, employees and the wider public so far as is reasonably practical from all risks to health and safety that their work activities create. This applies also to airlines. We do not see how transferring the responsibilities from the HSE to the Civil Aviation Authority would make any practical difference to aircraft crew.