Mr Bacon posed two questions about NATS Article 88 approvals, based on a letter in his possession dated 22 January from Mr Dancer of the CAA to Mr Everitt. Specifically he asked whether the approval was temporary and, if so, what reason there was for the temporary nature of the approval. He suggested (Q207) that the reason was related to issues raised by the Health and Safety Executive.
The letter is not attached since it has presumably already been made available by Mr Bacon to other Committee members.24 The letter begins as follows: "When I wrote to you on 24 October 2001 I advised that the Article 88 Air Navigation Order Approvals for NATS (En Route) Limited and NATS (Services) Ltd had again been time limited to enable anticipated changes to your structure and organisation to take place and be notified to the CAA. I understand that elements of the reorganisation have not yet taken place and on the assurance that the management structure of NATS remains as it was communicated to me on 20 December 2001 by Andrew Picton, your current Article 88 Approvals, which expire on 25 January 2002, are being replaced by further time limited approvals to enable completion of the reorganisation." Since the answers to both questions are contained in the letter, and are unrelated to the Health and Safety Executive, the purpose in asking them is unclear.
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24 Ev 41.