Baroness Pidgeon (LD)

My Lords, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this statutory instrument, which amends airport slots. I thank the civil servants who spoke to me on Friday to provide more detail to the background, and the Minister for the opening statement. Put simply, these slots provide the permission to use airport infrastructure on a specific date and time for take-off or landing, and they apply, as the Minister has outlined, to congested airports in the UK only. The first change is logical—it is putting in place rules to cover scenarios such as a pandemic. Slot alleviation was granted on a temporary basis during Covid to prevent flights running empty in order that airlines could keep their slots. These new rules would cover any government-imposed measures whereby passenger travel would be significantly reduced. I am pleased to read that nine out of 10 respondents supported this, and it makes clear sense. Perhaps the Minister could advise whether this is something that is also being implemented in the EU or in other countries post pandemic. The second area is an amendment to the definition of a new entrant carrier from an airline that has fewer than five slots at an airport on a day to one that has seven. My key question when reading the statutory instrument was where the demand has come from to raise this number to seven. Why do the Government want to make this change? I could not see anywhere that the airline industry was clamouring for it. Paragraph 7.3 of the Explanatory Memorandum states that “some respondents felt that the suggested change to fewer than seven slots was too small to have a tangible effect on competition and wanted a higher threshold”. What conversations has the department had with the airline industry? Is there any consensus or appetite for the definition of a new entrant carrier to include a higher number of slots? Conversely, is there a concern that while raising the slot threshold to seven could make it easier for new entrants, it might also limit opportunities for smaller carriers? Surely we need to ensure safeguards and encourage broader market diversity. Perhaps the Minister can clarify how the Government will ensure that the allocation of slots increases choice for passengers. What conversations has the department had with the EU about its plans in this area? While I understand that this change would bring UK legislation in line with international guidelines, which were updated in 2020, in these areas it is often sensible to be aligned with our nearest neighbours, and it would be good to understand where the EU is in this particular field. In my view, it is not an area where divergence is necessarily needed. I would appreciate some responses from the Minister to these questions—but, overall, the statutory instrument is acceptable in its current form.