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Civil Aviation Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, and my noble friend Lord Carter for bringing us back to the Bill, as it were. The amendment proposes the introduction of a scheme by which clearance costs for guide dogs and other assistance dogs entering the UK by air under the pet passport scheme, or pet travel scheme as it is otherwise known in the UK, would be met by airlines. The Government have given the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, and my noble friend Lord Carter careful consideration and have concluded that its aims can be achieved without an amendment to the Civil Aviation Bill. Before I explain the reasons in detail, let me say that the Government recognise the excellent work that is carried out by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and other assistance dog organisations in promoting the interests of their members and the welfare of guide and assistance dogs. Those bodies have worked closely and fruitfully with the Government in the past and will, I am sure, continue to do so. The pet passport scheme permits the entry of dogs, including guide and other assistance dogs, into the UK without the need for quarantine, as the noble Lord said, provided they meet certain rules. It has proved popular since its launch six years ago. It has also been welcomed by guide and other assistance dog owners who can—many do—travel abroad with their dogs. The pet passport scheme is adopted by all EU countries under legislation that came into force in July 2003 and applied in July 2004. That legislation sets down the certification requirements for all dogs and cats moving between EU countries and into the EU from other countries. The UK checks all animals coming in, whether they come from the EU or elsewhere, because, along with a number of other member states, it has a special derogation, which will be reviewed by the European Commission in 2007. The derogation requires animals to be blood tested and to be treated for ticks and tapeworms before entry. The UK clearance checks are there to ensure that there is compliance with those extra rules. I should add that, under European law, all member states are required to check all animals coming in from outside the EU at the point of entry. When animals enter the UK by air, they will, in most cases, travel as cargo in the hold of the aircraft. However, under the pet passport scheme airlines may allow assistance dogs to travel in the cabin with their owner. Indeed, under the proposed EC regulation on air passenger rights for disabled people and people with reduced mobility, it will be a requirement for assistance dogs to be permitted to travel in the cabin. Where the dog is in the cabin, the owner and their dog are met on arrival by staff who check that the dog meets the requirements of the pet passport scheme. That ensures that throughout the journey and on landing the owner is not separated from their assistance dog. The airline may charge the owner for carrying out the pet passport checks. Whether it does so is currently a matter for the airline itself—as the noble Lord said, some do, some do not—and any company that it sub-contracts to carry out the checks on its behalf rather than government. I am sure that the noble Lord is aware of that. However, in the case of assistance dogs, some airlines waive the charges altogether. Indeed, guidelines drawn up by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, in conjunction with a number of UK airlines, recommend that assistance dog owners should not be charged directly for those clearance costs. I recognise that the aim of the amendment was to make it a legal requirement for those costs to be met by airlines. It appears to me, however, that provisions in the proposed EC regulation that I mentioned should make an amendment to the Civil Aviation Bill unnecessary. Article 8 of that regulation would require airlines to provide certain forms of assistance to disabled people without charge, one of which is to carry recognised assistance dogs free of charge in the aircraft cabin, subject to national regulations, and I will come to the question that my noble friend gave me notice of in a moment. That obligation should be capable of being construed so as to include all measures necessary to allow for the carriage of assistance dogs needed by disabled passengers, including clearance checks under the pets passport scheme. The Government gave priority to progressing that proposal during our recent presidency of the European Union. It has wide support from disability groups, and it provides a suitable framework for the carriage of assistance dogs into the UK. It has already been agreed by the European Parliament, and we expect it to be adopted without further debate at a forthcoming Council meeting. I have in front of me a number of reasons why the amendment is technically flawed which, given the hour, we will not go into tonight. In view of the European legislation that I have just discussed, which addresses discrimination against disabled people, I hope that my noble friend and the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, will agree that an amendment to the Civil Aviation Bill is not necessary and will withdraw the amendment. I shall briefly address the question from my noble friend Lord Carter, who asked about national regulations. Article 8 of the proposed EU regulations that I have just been talking about requires airlines to provide certain forms of assistance to disabled people, which includes a requirement to carry recognised assistance dogs free of charge, subject to member states’ national regulations. In the United Kingdom, those regulations are the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974, as amended, covering animals being imported into rabies quarantine, and the Non-Commercial Movement of Pet Animals (England) 2004, Schedule 1 of which sets out conditions of approval for air carriers to participate in the UK’s pets travel scheme. That includes checking requirements and assurances that the animals are transported in an appropriate part of the aircraft and in appropriate conditions. It is an EU regulation that subsumes UK regulations. I ask noble Lords to withdraw the amendment.