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Civil Aviation Bill

My Lords, my noble friend has greater powers of recollection than I and was more directly involved in these issues. The House will recognise that he is an authority on these matters and I am sure that what he says is broadly true. However, we made a promise in The Future of Air Transport White Paper to bring forward legislation enabling the Secretary of State to require an emissions-related element to be introduced, which is exactly what this Bill does. Amendments Nos. 2 and 4 would, as I am sure noble Lords will recall, affect the way in which noise and emission charges should be set. The Government of course agree that it is entirely reasonable to expect airport operators to set appropriate noise charges. Again, not to do so would be at odds with ICAO guidance that noise related charges should be non-discriminatory between users and should not be established at such levels as to be prohibitively high for the operation of certain aircraft. The Government are unconvinced that this is something that needs to be placed in the Bill. I can only repeat that airports have been making use of the power to set noise-related charges for nearly 25 years and there has been no suggestion that they have not done so in an appropriate or proportionate way. I recognise that there will be some disappointment among some noble Lords at the Government’s position. I appreciate the particular interest that the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, takes in these measures, given her former relationship to a constituency so close to London Heathrow. Let me make it absolutely clear that should there ever appear to be a problem with the charging scheme, the Secretary of State has the power to direct an airport operator as to the manner in which the charges are to be fixed. It is not a question of powers and legislation but of choice with regard to policy. We will continually debate policy with regard to airports; they are destined always to be a controversial issue. However, we are discussing today an amendment to legislation, and I do not believe that noble Lords should sustain their position on their amendments. I beg to move. Moved, That the House do not insist on its Amendments Nos. 1, 2 and 4 to which the Commons have disagreed for their reasons 1A, 2A and 4A.—(Lord Davies of Oldham.)