Clause 1 - Aerodrome charges: noise and emissions
Civil Aviation Bill
10:30 am
Tom Brake (Shadow Secretary of State for Transport (And Scotland), Transport; Carshalton and Wallington, Liberal Democrat)
In the spirit of cross-party co-operation, I support what the hon. Member for Canterbury said about this probing amendment and I understand why he will not press it to a Division. It goes to the core of what we are discussing. If aviation, aviation emissions and aviation noise are as significant as the Government say, the Government should be trying to ensure that every aerodrome authority sets charges, for example, and draws up noise control schemes. It is a matter of ''shall'' rather than ''may'', as the hon. Gentleman said. I hope that the Minister, too, will explain precisely why the Government feel that a soft ''may'' is appropriate rather than ''shall'', given that many airport authorities are already taking the action proposed.