Letter to the Chairman from Paul Clark
MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
Thank you for your kind invitation to appear
before the Home Affairs Select Committee on 26 January 2010. It
was most interesting to hear the Committee's views on aviation
security. I should like to repeat the assurance that I gave you
at the time, relating to the importance of transport security.
It is of paramount importance to me and to the Government that
people are able to travel freely and safely. As I stated to the
Committee the aviation security regime must be proportionate and
effective. It is for this reason that we have encouraged a layered
approach.
I agreed to inform you of the steps that have
been taken in the area of aviation security since the incident
on NWA 253 on 25 December 2009.
MEASURES TO
IMPROVE SCREENING
This Department has directed all regulated airports
to have Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) capability in place and
operating no later than 31 December 2010. Many airports already
possess this technology, particularly the larger ones, so for
them this will not constitute any change. Those airports without
ETD will need to undertake compensatory measures, which should
serve as an incentive to obtain the technology. Trace detection
relies on directly picking up small particles or "trace"
amounts of an explosive material. Such systems already provide
a very good capability for detecting a range of explosives.
Where this technology is already available we
have increased the proportion of individuals who have an item
subject to explosive trace detection; where it is not we have
increased the number of passengers subject to hand search. We
have also requested that airports submit proposals on how and
when they could apply further screening activity. Security measures
are delivered by the airport operators and we are keen to tap
into their frontline expertise and operational knowledge of these
matters.
We are currently looking at whether targeting
certain passengers for additional security measures at airports
would be more effective than selecting a proportion of passengers
at random. We have taken no decisions yet. And any decision would
have to be defensible on both security and equalities grounds.
We are aware of the work being done by BAA to introduce behavioural
detection techniques and we look forward to receiving further
information on the outcome of this.
A Direction was issued on 31 December 2009 obliging
all transit passengers to disembark the aircraft upon landing
and to be screened to UK standards before rejoining the aircraft
(transit passengers are those who arrive on an aircraft at an
airport and intend to depart on the same aircraft).
BODY SCANNERS
The requirement to deploy Advanced Imaging Technology
machines (AIT more commonly known as body scanner) machines at
Heathrow and Manchester airports came into effect on Monday 1
February and I expect additional scanners to be deployed at these
airports and to be introduced at Birmingham Airport over the course
of this month. This will be followed by a wider roll-out of scanners
in the coming months. These scanners are designed to give airport
security staff a much better chance of detecting explosives or
other potentially harmful items hidden on a passenger's body.
The Department for Transport has introduced
an Interim Code of Practice covering privacy, health and safety,
data protection and equality issues. The Code will require airports
to undertake scanning sensitively, having regard to the rights
of passengers. This is available in the libraries of the House
and on the Department's website.
Given the current security threat level, the
Government believes it essential to start introducing scanners
immediately. However we wish to consult widely on the long-term
regime for their use, taking full account of the experience of
the initial deployment. The Department will, therefore, shortly
be launching a full public consultation on the requirements relating
to the use of scanners as set out in the Interim code of Practice
and will consider all representations carefully before preparing
a Final Code of Practice later in the year.
INTERNATIONAL WORK
As I made clear to the Committee we seek wherever
possible to work to drive up standards; that said it is not our
role to "police" the world's skies but rather, where
possible, to work with the EU and International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) to drive up standards. We also work with other
countries directly.
The Department has been delivering aviation
security capacity building overseas since 2005 using the Countering
Terrorism and Radicalisation (CTR) Funding (previously the Global
Opportunity Fund (GOF)). We are working with a wide range of countries
including North and East Africa, the Middle East and Asia where
there is a heightened threat and where weaknesses in aviation
security could pose a risk to the UK. This work is ongoing and
will be kept under review as the threat evolves.
The capacity building undertaken has consisted
of:
— Inward Visits: to provide security counterparts
with an opportunity to discuss and observe UK practice.
— Aviation Security Training: X-ray Screening,
Physical Search techniques, Supervisory, Training the Trainers,
Security Management and Compliance Inspection (Quality Assurance).
— Equipment: Test pieces for X-ray and
Walk Through Metal Detectors (WTMD), X-ray trays and Explosive
Trace Detection Equipment (including training and consumables).
— Regional Aviation Security Workshops.
Direct flights to the UK from Yemen have been
suspended with immediate effect pending enhanced security. DfT
Aviation security officials were in Yemen on 19 and 20 January
to observe local security standards. Co-operation with the Yemeni
Government has been excellent and we are working closely with
them to agree what security measures need to be put in place before
flights are resumed. In the interim, this is likely to involve
a requirement for flights from Yemen to operate via a third country
with additional security checks, combined with a package of capacity
building measures to assist Sana's airport to improve its security
operations. The DfT expect to provide a report to the Yemen Government
later this week.
I hope that this later makes it clear to you
the ongoing work being undertaken on aviation security and explains
what we have done, but also what we are planning to do in the
slightly longer term.
4 February 2010
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