A Government Consultation On Benefits Of Drones To The UK Economy Closes Soon.
The Title is:
Unlocking the UK’s High Tech Economy: Consultation on the Safe Use of drones in the UK
Closing Date – This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 15 March 2017
Summary – Seeks views on proposals to harness the positive benefits of drones for public and commercial services and the benefits to the UK economy.
Whether you want to have a say or not, this would be interesting to operators or manufacturers active in the Drone market in UK.
There are 3 main documents in this consultation:
1. Unlocking the UK’s high tech economy: consultation on the safe use of drones in the UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579562/consultation-on-the-safe-use-of-drones.pdf
2. Impact assessment: insurance for drones
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579509/drones-insurance_ia.pdf
3. Impact assessment: mandated guidance provision for drones
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579515/mandated-guidance-ia.pdf
To give you a view of what is covered and what sort of consultation questions are being asked, we have extracted and listed them below.
A Summary List Of The Proposals And Consultation Questions:
Proposal A: Evaluating the UK’s drone testing site provision and processes
Consultation Question 1. Is the UK’s current testing site provision for drones adequate?
Consultation Question 2. Which of the above Proposal A, Options 1-4 is your preferred option and why?
Consultation Question 3. What other options could you suggest?
Proposal B: Pilot competency, training and licensing
Consultation Question 4. Are new competency standards and qualifications needed? Why?
Consultation Question 5. What should the new standards and qualifications be?
Consultation Question 6. How should the new standards and qualifications be taught and tested?
Proposal C: Insurance
Consultation Question 7. Do you support: Proposal C, Option 1: Working with industry to develop best practice, Proposal C, Option 2: The creation of an enabling primary power to set UK drone insurance requirements, or neither? Why?
Consultation Question 8. In which of the above areas a-e would you be supportive of action being taken? Why do you support action in the areas you have picked and not in others?
Proposal D: Improving leisure drone user awareness of the law
Consultation Question 9. Other than those already described here, what other options could the Government consider to improve leisure drone user awareness of the law?
Consultation Question 10. Would you support a requirement to issue guidance on flying your drone safely and legally by manufacturers, sellers, or both? Why?
Consultation Question 11. Have you read any official drone guidance (such as the CAA’s Dronecode, the Informational Commissioner Office’s guidance or any other official guidance on drones)?
Consultation Question 12. What guidance have you read?
Consultation Question 13. How can the content and formats of official guidance on drones be improved?
Consultation Question 14. Do you support the creation of official guidance specifically aimed at helping parents and adults responsible for supervising children fly drones safely? Why?
Consultation Question 15. Do you support the creation of a labelling system on drone packaging stating the age suitability? Why?
Consultation Question 16. Would you support for leisure users the introduction of a knowledge test, situational awareness test or both? Why?
Consultation Question 17. Are you supportive of changes to the Air Navigation Order 2016 small drone flying rules to make them simpler? Why?
Proposal E: Improving Deterrents
Consultation Question 18. Do you support increasing deterrents for breaking any of the small drone laws in the Air Navigation Order 2016? Why?
Consultation Question 19. Is there a need to amend current legislation to better enable prosecution relating to drone misuse? Why?
Proposal F: No Drone Flying Zones and Enforcement
Consultation Question 20. Do you support Proposal F, Options 1 and/or 2? Why? .
Consultation Question 21. Are you a public organisation or body with relevant drone flying restrictions?
Consultation Question 22. If so, would you make use of standardised signage to inform the public of restrictions on drone operations? Why?
Proposal G: Registration of drones
Consultation Question 23. At what weight should a drone be excluded from registration? Please explain your reasoning.
Consultation Question 24. Should the threshold for exclusion from registration be based on a different metric (such as how high you intend to fly the drone?)
Consultation Question 25. If you think so, what more appropriate or different threshold do you suggest and why?
Consultation Question 26. Who should be made responsible for collecting and holding small drone registration details? The Civil Aviation Association or another body? Why?
Consultation Question 27. Do you support registration requirements not applying for certain owners of model aircraft below 20 kilograms in weight? Why?
Consultation Question 28. Do you support the registration process proposed? Why?
Consultation Question 29. Do you support a small charge being imposed on drone owners when registering their drone? Why?
Consultation Question 30. What do you think about the parameters for a charging scheme outlined above?
Consultation Question 31. Should some anonymous/non-identifying data collected by registration (such as numbers of drones in a local area) be made publically available? What data and why?
Consultation Question 32. Having considered some elements of how the registration scheme would be implemented, which of the following options is your preferred option:
• Proposal G, Option 1: Not to introduce a registration scheme;
• Proposal G, Option 2: To introduce a registration scheme in the near future; or
• Proposal G, Option 3: To introduce a registration scheme in the longer term
Why?
Proposal H: Electronic Identification of drones
Consultation Question 33. Do you agree with the proposed approach to implementing an electronic identification requirement? Why?
Consultation Question 34. Should all registered drones be electronically identifiable? Why?
Consultation Question 35. If no, what drones should be excluded from electronic identification and why?
Consultation Question 36. Do you support a pilot scheme mandating the use of an app to notify other app users and authorities that you are flying a drone in a certain area? Why?
Proposal I: Drone Traffic Management
Consultation Question 37. Do you agree with the proposed characteristics of the drone traffic management system? Why?
Consultation Question 38. Do you agree with the proposed underlying principles for the drone traffic management system? Why?
Consultation Question 39. Do you agree that it should be compulsory for a drone to be electronically identifiable in order to use the UTM system? Why?
Consultation Question 40. Should electronic identification for manned general aviation be mandatory? Why?
Consultation Question 41. How should a drone traffic management system be funded?
The consultation documents and response link can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/benefits-of-drones-to-the-uk-economy