Explanatory note

Section 5(2) of the Transport Act 2000 (“the Act”) provides that a licence may be granted (a) in respect of air traffic services of one or more specified descriptions and (b) in respect of one or more specified areas.

Section 11(3)(b) of the Act provides that the Secretary of State may modify prescribed terms in an air traffic services licence. Using the power to make regulations in section 11(4) of the Act, the Secretary of State may specify the prescribed terms that may be modified pursuant to section 11(3)(b) of the Act.

Regulation 2 therefore provides that terms in a licence specifying air traffic services, and the area served by some, or all, of those air traffic services, are prescribed licence terms capable of modification by the Secretary of State. This will allow the Secretary of State to modify a prescribed term in a licence so as to modify the types of air traffic services which are authorised in the licence and to modify the area(s) in which such authorised air traffic services may be provided.

These Regulations follow from a joint consultation by the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (“CAA”) on Airspace Modernisation^f1 which sets out proposals for NATS (En Route) plc (the holder of a licence issued by the Secretary of State under section 5 of the Act) to provide an airspace design service to develop proposals for changes to airspace design (airspace change proposals) in an area determined by the Secretary of State from time to time. The process for this is set out in the Air Navigation Directions ^f2, which provide for the CAA to make changes to the design of UK airspace following receipt by the CAA of an airspace change proposal.

A full Impact Assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it is not expected to have significant impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors. Instead a de minimis assessment has been prepared as this instrument is likely to entail some costs for businesses, but the net impact is estimated to be below £10 million per year.

An Explanatory Memorandum and the de minimis assessment have been published alongside these Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk.