Civil Aviation Act 1978 (repealed 8.11.1995)

Aviation Security Fund

Establishment and purpose of Aviation Security Fund

1

• (1) There shall be established under the control and management of the Secretary of State a fund to be called the Aviation Security Fund (in the following provisions of this Act referred to as the Fund) out of which payments shall be made in accordance with subsection (2) below.

• (2) Any payment falling to be made by the Secretary of State under either of the following provisions, that is to say—

• (a) section 23 of the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973 (reimbursement of expenses incurred by aircraft operators, aerodrome managers and others for the purpose of protecting aircraft, aerodromes and air navigation installations against acts of violence);

• (b) section 7 of the Policing of Airports Act 1974 (reimbursement of expenses incurred by aerodrome authorities in or in connection with the policing of aerodromes),

shall, unless the Secretary of State certifies that the payment is of an exceptional nature, be defrayed out of the Fund instead of out of moneys provided by Parliament and any such payment defrayed out of the Fund may be made without the consent of the Treasury.

• (3) The Secretary of State shall prepare accounts of the Fund in such form as the Treasury may direct and shall send them to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of the month of November following the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate; and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify every such account and shall lay copies thereof, together with his report thereon, before Parliament.

• (4) Any money in the Fund which appears to the Secretary of State not to be immediately required for the purposes of the Fund may be deposited by him with the Bank of England or with any company that is a banking or discount company for the purposes of the Protection of Depositors Act 1963 ; and any interest received by the Secretary of State in respect of money so deposited shall be paid by him into the Fund.

• (5) There shall be paid out of the Fund into the Consolidated Fund sums equal to the amount of any expenses incurred by the Secretary of State in the management and control of the Aviation Security Fund.

Contributions to the Fund

2

• (1) The Secretary of State may make regulations containing such provisions as he considers appropriate for requiring aerodrome authorities to pay him, in respect of all aerodromes or of aerodromes of a prescribed class, contributions to the Fund calculated in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

• (2) Those contributions shall be payable in respect of prescribed periods and the contribution payable for any aerodrome in respect of each such period shall be one of the following amounts or, if it is so prescribed, the aggregate of those amounts, that is to say—

• (a) an amount ascertained by multiplying a prescribed sum by the number of passengers, or passengers of a prescribed description, who during that period arrived by air at or departed by air from that aerodrome or the number of such passengers in excess of a prescribed limit;

• (b) an amount ascertained by multiplying a prescribed sum by the total prescribed units of weight of each aircraft, or aircraft of a prescribed description, which during that period arrived at or departed from that aerodrome.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may—

• (a) prescribe the time when any contribution is to be paid ;

• (b) charge interest at a rate prescribed with the consent of the Treasury on so much of any contribution as is overdue;

• (c) require aerodrome authorities, in relation to the aerodromes under their management, to furnish the Secretary of State with such information, to keep such records and to make such returns to him about the matters mentioned in subsection (2) above as may be prescribed ;

• (d) provide that contravention of any prescribed provision of the regulations (other than a failure to pay a contribution or interest on any overdue contribution) shall be an offence, either triable on indictment or summarily or triable only summarily, and punishable in each case with a fine, not exceeding in the case of a summary conviction, £1,000.

• (4) The Secretary of State shall pay into the Fund all money received by him by virtue of regulations made under this section.

• (5) Where an offence under regulations made under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

• (6) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (5) above shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

• (7) Subsection (3)(d) above shall have effect—

• (a) in its application to offences triable either way in England and Wales, as if for " £1,000 " there were substituted " the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 28 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 " (that is to say, £1,000 or another sum fixed by order under section 61 of that Act to take account of changes in the value of money);

• (b) in its application to offences triable on indictment or summarily in Scotland, as if for " £1,000 " there were substituted " the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 289B of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 " (that is to say, £1,000 or another sum fixed by an order under section 289D of that Act for that purpose).

• (8) In this section " prescribed ", except where the context otherwise requires, means prescribed by regulations made under this section, and—

• (a) regulations so made may make different provision for different cases ; and

• (b) the regulations first so made may, if not made before 1st April 1978, be retrospective to that date so that the first period prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2) above shall begin on or after that date.

• (9) Regulations shall not be made under this section unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

• (10) In this section—

• " aerodrome " means an aerodrome within the meaning of the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973 ; and

• " aerodrome authority " means, in relation to any aerodrome, the person (whether the British Airports Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority, a local authority or any other person) by whom the aerodrome is managed.

Financing of Fund: borrowing

3

• (1) The Secretary of State may borrow temporarily by overdraft or otherwise such sums in sterling as he may require for the purposes of the Fund.

• (2) The Secretary of State shall pay into the Fund any sum borrowed under subsection (1) above ; and the Secretary of State shall make any repayment in respect of the principal of any such sum, and any payment in respect of interest thereon, out of the Fund.

• (3) The aggregate amount outstanding by way of principal in respect of sums borrowed by the Secretary of State under subsection (1) above shall not at any time exceed £5 million, or such larger sum, not exceeding £10 million, as the Secretary of State may by order made with the consent of the Treasury determine.

• (4) The Treasury may guarantee in such manner and on such conditions as they think fit the repayment of, and the payment of any interest on, any sums borrowed by the Secretary of State under subsection (1) above.

• (5) Immediately after any guarantee is given under subsection (4) above, the Treasury shall lay a statement of the guarantee before each House of Parliament.

• (6) Any sums required by the Treasury for fulfilling any guarantee given under subsection (4) above shall be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund.

• (7) Where any sum is issued out of the Consolidated Fund under subsection (6) above, the Treasury shall, as soon as possible after the end of each financial year (beginning with that in which the sum is issued and ending with that in which all liability in respect of the principal of the sum and in respect of interest thereon is finally discharged) lay before each House of Parliament an account of that sum and of any payments made, during the financial year to which the account relates, by way of repayment of that sum or by way of interest thereon.

• (8) Any sum issued for fulfilling a guarantee given under subsection (4) above shall be repaid by the Secretary of State out of the Aviation Security Fund to the Treasury in such manner and over such period and with interest thereon at such rate as the Treasury may determine; and any sums received by the Treasury under this subsection shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

• (9) An order shall not be made under this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before the House of Commons and approved by a resolution of that House.

Power to wind up Fund

4

• (1) The Secretary of State may at any time by order provide for the winding up of the Fund and, on the completion of the winding up, for the return to each aerodrome authority by whom contributions have been made to the Fund of a share of the net assets standing to the credit of the Fund which bears the same proportion to those assets as the authority's contributions to the Fund in the last 12 months during which contributions were made to the Fund bear to the total contributions made by aerodrome authorities to the Fund during those 12 months.

• (2) On such day as is declared by the Secretary of State by order to be that on which the winding up was completed sections 1 and 2 above shall cease to have effect, without prejudice, however, to the duty of the Secretary of State and the Comptroller and Auditor General to comply with section 1(3) above; and accordingly as from that day section 23 of the Protection of Aircraft Act 1973 and section 7 of the Policing of Airports Act 1974 shall have effect as if this Act had not been passed.

• (3) An order under subsection (1) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Financial provisions

Amendment of borrowing powers of Civil Aviation Authority and British Airways Board

5

• (1) In section 8(5) of the 1971 Act (aggregate amount outstanding in respect of the initial debt of, and the principal of borrowings by, the Civil Aviation Authority not to exceed £75 million), for the words " £75 million " there shall be substituted the words " £125 million; but nothing in this subsection shall prevent the Authority from borrowing in excess of that amount for the purpose of paying oft the whole or part of the initial debt or any loan. ".

• (2) Section 8 of the 1971 Act (borrowing powers of Civil Aviation Authority) shall be further amended as follows:—

• (a) in subsection (1) (power to borrow temporarily with the consent of, or in accordance with a general authorisation given by, the Secretary of State), for the words from " with the consent" onwards there shall be substituted the words

borrow temporarily, by overdraft or otherwise, such sums in sterling as it may require for performing its functions— (a) from the Secretary of State; or (b) with the consent of, or in accordance with a general authorisation given by, the Secretary of State from another person

; and

• (b) in subsection (3) (power to borrow other than in sterling), for the words from " in sterling" onwards there shall be substituted the words

in sterling— (a) by virtue of subsection (1)(b) above, or (b) by virtue of subsection (2) above from the Commission of the European Communities or the European Investment Bank.

.

• (3) The British Airways Board Act 1977 shall be amended as follows:—

• (a) in section 9(1) (1imit of £700 million on aggregate of loans to and government investment in the Board), after the words "£700 million" there shall be added the words " or such greater sum, not exceeding £850 million, as the Secretary of State may from time to time by order specify ";

• (b) in section 21(2) (orders of which a draft must be approved by resolution of each House of Parliament), at the end there shall be added the words " ; and no order shall be made under section 9(1) of this Act unless a draft of the order has been approved by a resolution of the House of Commons. ".

Control of capital expenditure and of hiring of equipment

6

For section 6(2) of the 1971 Act (duty of Civil Aviation Authority with respect to capital expenditure) there shall be substituted the following subsections:—

(2) Subject to subsection (2A) below, it shall be the duty of the Authority— (a) in framing and carrying out proposals involving substantial outlay on capital account; and (b) in framing and carrying out proposals involving the taking on hire of any equipment the purchase of which at the time of taking on hire would involve such an outlay, to act on lines settled from time to time with the approval of the Secretary of State; and it shall also be the duty of the Authority to secure that any subsidiary of the Authority acts on those lines in framing and carrying out either description of proposals. (2A) Subsection (2)(b) above shall not apply to proposals by the Authority or one of its subsidiaries involving the taking on hire of equipment from a subsidiary or another of the subsidiaries of the Authority or from the Authority itself, as the case may be.

.

Power of Civil Aviation Authority to charge for air navigation services in pursuance of an agreement

7

Section 9(7) of the 1971 Act (under which the Civil Aviation Authority has no power, whether in pursuance of an agreement, or otherwise, to determine charges for air navigation services) shall have effect, and shall be deemed always to have had effect, as if the words from " or by " to " subsection " were omitted.

Miscellaneous

Power to make byelaws in relation to noise, vibration and pollution

8

• (1) Each of the enactments specified in subsection (2) below shall have effect as if the power to make byelaws conferred by that enactment in relation to any aerodrome included power to make byelaws for controlling the operation of aircraft within or directly above the aerodrome for the purpose of limiting or mitigating the effect of noise, vibration and atmospheric pollution caused by aircraft using the aerodrome.

• (2) The said enactments are—

• (a) section 2 of the 1968 Act (byelaws made by the Secretary of State);

• (b) section 3 of that Act (byelaws made by local authorities);

• (c) section 4 of that Act (byelaws made by proprietors of certain private aerodromes);

• (d) section 31 of the 1971 Act (byelaws made by Civil Aviation Authority);

• (e) section 9 of the Airports Authority Act 1975 (byelaws made by British Airports Authority).

• (3) The maximum amount which may be specified by byelaws made by virtue of this section for any fine for contravention of the byelaws shall be £500 instead of £100 (as laid down by section 5 of the said Act of 1968 in the case of byelaws made under section 2, 3 or 4 of that Act and by the said sections 31 and 9 in the case of byelaws made under those sections respectively).

• (4) Where any person, other than the Secretary of State, has in relation to any aerodrome made any byelaw by virtue of this section, the Secretary of State may, after consultation with that person, by order—

• (a) revoke or vary that byelaw if he considers it appropriate to do so by reason of his having designated the aerodrome an aerodrome to which section 29 of the 1971 Act (regulation of noise and vibration from aircraft) applies; or

• (b) revoke or vary that byelaw to the extent that it appears to him to be inconsistent with the safety of persons or vehicles using the aerodrome, of aircraft or of the general public, or with any international obligation binding on the United Kingdom.

Fixing by reference to noise factors the charges for using aerodromes

9

• (1) Without prejudice to any power of any aerodrome authority to enter into an agreement on such terms as it thinks fit, an aerodrome authority may, for the purpose of encouraging the use of quieter aircraft and of diminishing inconvenience from aircraft noise, fix its charges by reference, among other things, to any fact or matter relevant to—

• (a) the amount of noise caused by the aircraft in respect of which the charges are made ; or

• (b) the extent or nature of any inconvenience resulting from such noise.

• (2) Without prejudice to section 8(2)(o) of the Civil Aviation Act 1949 (power by Order in Council to regulate charges at licensed aerodromes), the Secretary of State may by order direct specified aerodrome authorities to fix their charges in exercise of the power conferred by subsection (1) above; and any such order may contain directions as to the manner in which those charges are to be so fixed.

• (3) An order under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (4) In this section—

• " aerodrome " means an aerodrome licensed under an Order in Council made under section 8 of the Civil Aviation Act 1949;

• " aerodrome authority " means, in relation to any aerodrome, the person owning or managing it; and

• " charges " means, in relation to an aerodrome authority, the charges the authority makes for the use of an aerodrome owned or managed by it.

General directions to Civil Aviation Authority in interests of national security

10

In section 4 of the 1971 Act (Secretary of State's power to give directions in national interest, etc.), after subsection (2) there shall be inserted the following subsection:—

(2A) Without prejudice to section 3(2) of this Act or subsection (3)(a) of this section, the Secretary of State may, after consultation with the Authority, give it such directions of a general character as to the performance of its functions as he thinks it appropriate to give in the interests of national security; and in so far as any directions given in pursuance of this subsection conflict with the requirements of any provision of this Act, except subsection (1) of this section, those requirements shall be disregarded.

.