---

Civil Aviation Bill

moved Amendment No. 24:"After Clause 11, insert the following new clause—" ““PETS PASSPORT SCHEME AND GUIDE DOGS (1)   The Secretary of State shall introduce a scheme by which the clearance costs of the Pets Passport Scheme for guide dogs and other assistance dogs travelling by air shall be met by airlines. (2)   For the purposes of this section— (a)   a ““guide dog”” is a dog trained and accredited to provide mobility assistance to a blind or partially sighted person, (b)   an ““assistance dog”” is one which has been specifically trained and accredited to assist a disabled person. (3)   Regulations shall provide for the recognition of guide and assistance dogs from other states.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I am pleased we are getting back to the proper business of this legislation. Amendment No. 24 requires the Secretary of State to introduce a scheme to share the clearance costs of guide and assistance dogs travelling under the pets passport scheme. It proposes that those costs will be shared among airline operators in proportion to the number of passengers carried through the PETS-approved airport by an individual airline. The pets passport scheme—or PETS, as it is commonly known—is administered by Defra, and has operated since February 2000. Under the terms of the scheme pet dogs, including guide dogs, assistance dogs and other small animals can be brought into the UK and specified countries without having to enter them into quarantine, subject to certain qualifications. That means that people in the UK can take their dog to one of those specified countries and then bring it back to the UK without having to enter it into quarantine. Obviously there are certain costs attached to the scheme, which are payable by the animal’s owner—rabies vaccinations and health insurance, to name but a couple. Central to this amendment, however, are those costs necessary to administer the clearance of an animal coming back into the UK under the PETS scheme. In April 2004, the main British charter and schedule airlines agreed to allow guide dogs and other assistance dogs to be carried into the cabin of an aircraft on PETS-approved routes into the UK. However, certain rules and conditions apply, and at present the only airports with the facilities to accept animals under PETS are Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester. On arrival at one of those airports, a guide dog and owner will be met on disembarkation by an official from the animal reception centre and cleared for entry into the UK under the pets passport scheme. As a result of recent work by the guide dogs charity and Defra, a number of UK airlines have agreed to waive the costs of clearing guide dogs under the pets passport scheme. Despite this progress, however, some airlines still pass on a proportion of the cost to the customer. At Gatwick and Manchester those costs can exceed £100, while at Heathrow there is no charge. At Question Time recently in this House the point was brought up that a certain number of passengers with visual impairment were refused to fly on Ryanair. There are all sorts of question that need to be answered by this scheme, and I am pleased to be putting this amendment forward with the noble Lord, Lord Carter, who I am sure will speak to it. I beg to move.