Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group (SASIG) - annual report to LGA Board 2024

Lead Member: Keith Artus (Chairman)
Lead Officer: SASIG Secretariat c/o Northpoint Aviation Services

Email: [email protected]    
Address: SASIG Secretariat, c/o Northpoint Aviation London & South East Office, 14, Monarch Terrace, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4NP    
Telephone: 01732 220256    
Website: www.sasig.org.uk

• Broadland District Council
• Cornwall Council
• Crawley Borough Council
• Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
• East Hertfordshire District Council
• Essex County Council
• Fareham Borough Council
• Hampshire County Council 
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Isles of Scilly
• London Borough of Hillingdon
• London Borough of Hounslow
• London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
• Luton Borough Council
• Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
• Rushmoor Borough Council
• Southend-on-Sea City Council
• Slough Borough Council
• Spelthorne Borough Council
• Uttlesford District Council
• Wokingham Borough Council.

SASIG represents approximately 12 million people which equates to 20 per cent of the population in the LGA’s combined area. Airports covered by Member Authorities handled 75 per cent of air passengers in England in 2019 and 65 per cent in the UK overall.

SASIG’s objectives are:

• to promote the need for long-term, sustainable aviation policies that lead to a reduction in the environmental impact of aviation whilst securing appropriate social and economic benefits
• to increase understanding of the local and global impacts of aviation on the environment and communities
• to identify and promote the changes needed to move towards sustainable aviation practices within the industry and Government
• to work with other organisations and the Government on the formulation of policy advice.

SASIG policy principles

1. To give the people of the UK the social and business opportunities to travel from their nearest airport where feasible.
2. To capture, not stifle, the social and economic benefits of aviation using robust and objective evidence.
3. To direct aviation growth to locations where it will assist sustainable economic regeneration.
4. To minimise adverse impacts – social, economic and environmental – by protecting people and non-transferable habitats.
5. To ensure that the air transport sector rather than local communities pays the full costs of the impact of all air journeys.
6. To offer the aviation industry tough but realistic parameters based upon associated impacts around which to secure growth.
7. To ensure that good quality surface access links are provided to airports, particularly public transport links that create integrated transport hubs.
8. To promote better point to point air services from regional airports, with sensitive control over all impacts.
9. To work with Government and other bodies to ensure that noise impacts as a result of airport growth, airspace changes and flight path changes on local communities are minimised and mitigated.
10. To support the coordination and integration of the full spectrum of national policies on issues relating to aviation. This must accord with international and regional policy-making and implementation.
11. To promote investigation of the impacts of the air freight industry, supporting the development of air freight infrastructure where it is the most appropriate mode.
12. To encourage Governments and the aviation industry to make greater efforts to reduce aviation’s impacts on climate change.
13. To instigate and design, in collaboration with external partners, innovative policies and methodologies for identifying, measuring and addressing effectively the noise, health, social infrastructure and wider strategic planning impacts of airport development.

SASIG strongly supports the Government’s work towards a national aviation policy that:

• is based on the need to control the impacts rather than the aviation activity.
• has considered in detail all options for providing capacity to meet forecast demand, and for providing for other, lower levels of demand.
• embraces the concept of integrated transport provision.
• audits the parameters that should be used in any forecasts of future demand.
• adopts an assessment process for aviation developments that explicitly includes all associated costs.
• sets effective environmental limits for the aviation industry to meet, taking the appropriate form – regulation, charges, taxes, etc.
• considers and mitigates against the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
• develops the economic analysis of aviation, and in particular improves valuation of the net impact – benefits and disbenefits.

Coordinates with other transport policies and with other associated national policies, such as climate change, and energy policies.

National Representation: After nearly 25 years, SASIG continues to thrive and enjoy national recognition within the aviation sector. It’s engagement in nationally important policy forums and access to key decision-makers, regulators and influencers plus its overtly balanced approach to aviation, allows it to fully engage with stakeholders on all sides of aviation related policy debates. 

Department for Transport, CAA, ACOG and Aviation Minister

• SASIG continues to be recognised as an important ‘strategic stakeholder’ by DfT with its views actively sought on issues relevant to local authorities and their airports. SASIG has had a number of meetings with Departmental officials in this period discussing such issues as long-term passenger demand, airport capacity and the industry’s recovery from the pandemic. 
• SASIG Chairman continues to represent local authorities on the board of the DfT’s Airspace Modernisation Stakeholder Engagement Group. (This replaced the Airspace Strategy Board).
• SASIG Policy Director attended meetings of the Airspace Change Organisation Group (ACOG) in May and November 2023 and March 2024.Government established ACOG in 2019 to coordinate delivery of key elements of the UK’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy and our Chairman has had regular contact with the ACOG Chairman to address issues related this.
• SASIG regularly attends DfT’s Airspace & Noise Engagement Group (ANEG). Their meetings in this period were held in July 2023 and January 2024. Next one scheduled for September.
• SASIG’s profile in Advanced Air Mobility is getting even stronger as in this period the Group established their own Drone Bureau with full support from LGA. The Policy Director also sits on the Future of Flight Government Liaison Group and has offered advice to the LGA’s representative on the FFIG.
• SASIG regularly attends the CAA’s Combined Aerodrome Safeguarding Team (CAST) which was formed in January 2021 to co-ordinate future work and good practice. Meetings in this period were in April, August and November 2023 and February 2024 with the next one scheduled for July. The CAA continues to seek SASIG’s views on other areas of its work programme particularly on how decisions on airspace change should be made and how aviation forecasts are developed.
• SASIG meets regularly with the incumbent Aviation Minister to highlight its work and promote on-going mutual co-operation with Government officials. A meeting with the current Aviation Minister is planned sometime this year and SASIG did meet with the Shadow Aviation Minister in October 2023.

Engagement with other stakeholders

SASIG’s Secretariat continues to liaise with other prominent industry stakeholder groups including AOA, RABA, LEP Network, COSLA, BEIS, Key Cities, Sustainable Aviation, Aviation Environment Federation, National Planning Inspectorate and the Gatwick Airport Conservation Campaign. They have also discussed future collaborative work with Connected Places Catapult and HSPG. Another industry stakeholder with whom SASIG has developed strong links is Innovate UK and their Future Flight Programme with SASIG being invited to attend the panel session of an event in July.

SASIG has also been working alongside Regional & Business Airports Group (RABA) and the Independent Transport Commission (ITC) on a study looking at future policy challenges likely to be associated with emergent aviation technologies over the next 30 years.

Conferences and public fora

The lingering fallout from the pandemic has continued to affect the way conferences, seminars and meetings (including our own members’ meetings) are attended, with these events usually being available on a virtual basis. (This does seem to remain the new ‘norm’). SASIG has, this past year, received invites to events organised by, amongst others, colleagues at DfT, CAA and Connect Places Catapult and also met with the Shadow Aviation Minister (in October 2023). Our Chairman was invited to be a speaker at the Westminster Transport Forum conference: ‘Priorities and next steps for the UK drone industry’ held on 16 January 2024. His presentation was very well received and has also led to interaction and contact with even more industry stakeholders than those already mentioned here in this report.

Our Chairman also contributed an article to the April 2023 edition of the LGA’s First magazine titled: ‘Are you Drone Aware?’. With SASIG setting up its own Drone Advisory Bureau designed to help member authorities navigate their way through the minefield of drone policy and regulation in their areas, this article was well-received with good feedback from outside SASIG as well.

SASIG bulletin

This is a core service emailed monthly by the SASIG Secretariat to members. It contains: editorial; an events diary; ‘Monthly Highlights’ section; Parliamentary Q & A’s on aviation matters; news articles from the month covering Parliamentary News, Government News, Regional News, National and Other Industry News and European News and updates to the SASIG website (publications/ industry documents, etc).  It provides a valuable resource, allowing Local Authorities to remain well-informed and take an active role in the aviation debate.

Appendices:

• SASIG Mission Statement
• SASIG Terms of Reference
• Annual Membership Subscriptions
• SASIG Meetings Held

SASIG mission statement

SASIG proactively contributes to ensure that UK aviation policy is implemented in a manner that reconciles economic, social and environmental issues. Advancing sustainable aviation policy on behalf of local communities.

SASIG terms of reference

1. The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group (SASIG) shall provide the forum within the Local Government Association (LGA) for all local authorities to discuss strategic aviation policies and major aviation issues and advancing sustainable aviation policy on behalf of local communities.
   2. SASIG will contribute to the work of the LGA in responding to Government and the European Commission on all aviation issues that have a strategic planning, transportation, land use, economic or environmental health dimension. SASIG, where appropriate, will work through and in conjunction with the LGA. SASIG will make representations direct to Government and elsewhere arising directly from the SIG’s special interest. SASIG shall not act in a way that conflicts with or undermines LGA policy as a whole or damages the interests of member authorities.
   3. SASIG will develop its role and pursue its objectives in accordance with an annual work programme, which will be kept under review so as to ensure consistency with LGA policy and meet with the aspirations of a wider membership.
   4. SASIG will operate under the following constitution: 

   (i) Each authority in membership is entitled to designate one Member and/or one officer to attend each meeting of the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group.
   (ii) Whilst the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group will seek to work by amicable agreement amongst the authorities, the formal position is that only one person from each member authority is entitled to vote.
   (iii) There is no objection to additional Members and officers attending meetings to observe and speak with the permission of the Chairman.
   (iv) A Chair’s Advisory Group and a Technical Officers Group, with representatives drawn from around airport locations on the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group, will be maintained to assist in taking initiatives forward but with no specific executive powers unless so authorised or at times when urgency dictates that responses must be made between meetings.
   (v) A Chair and up to three Vice Chairs will be elected annually to ensure a broad geographical spread of interest.
   (vi) The role of Honorary President and Vice Presidents may be filled by an appropriate person(s).
   (vii) The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group shall submit an annual report to the LGA and shall table other reports for LGA meetings as and when necessary.
   (viii) The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group shall set an annual subscription rate for membership based on an assessment of its likely annual expenditure on staff, consultants, printing/publicity and other costs. These costs will be apportioned between member authorities on a formula to be agreed.
   (ix) Authorities joining SASIG in any quarter of the financial year shall pay the relevant proportion of the annual subscription.
   (x) Authorities shall be advised of the forthcoming subscriptions each autumn for their approval. The absence of a response to the contrary indicates approval.
   (xi) Authorities resigning from SASIG shall give notice in writing prior to the end of the financial year.

Annual membership subscriptions

SASIG keeps its working methods and subscriptions under continuous review with the aim of keeping the subscription for its members at the lowest practical level. One effect is the current subscriptions have remained unchanged since 2015/16. Since April 2016 Dudley MBC had provided financial management services to SASIG ensuring that all income and expenditure was controlled and audited in line with their normal practices. From April 2023 they ceased this service and the Group’s finances began to be managed under new financial protocols agreed with the membership, which placed governance relating to the approval, monitoring, direction and accounting for the collection and expenditure of SASIGs budget with the Chairman and the Chairman’s Advisory Group (CAG).

SASIG membership meetings

Dates held – 20 April, 19 July and 16 November 2023 and 19 March 2024 (all virtual)

SASIG held 4 meetings across this period (all virtual) for the full membership including councillors and officers. The lingering impact of the pandemic on aviation and how the sector has been recovering from it, remained a focus for discussions and members have been regularly updated on SASIG’s work on its own LA Impact Study. Other topics discussed included the modernisation of UK airspace, night noise restrictions, policy changes relating to aviation technology and decarbonisation issues around aviation. Agendas at these meetings also placed a focus on SASIG’s interest in the various consultations related to these issues.

Other items covered at the member meetings include the Groups’ ongoing work to raise SASIG’s profile and membership, land use planning alongside aircraft noise, airport safeguarding, allocation of airport slots and regional connectivity. Guest speakers at the April 2023 meeting was Charles Lloyd, AEF who gave a presentation on the Aircraft Noise, Night Flights, Noise Action Plans and Airspace Modernisation. Guest speakers in July were Paul Hampton, CGI who gave a presentation about a proposal for addressing the public acceptability of the largescale rollout of UAVs and Steve Mitchell and Graham Lake, GNMB who spoke about land use planning for new residential development affected by aircraft noise. In November 2023, our own Policy Director was guest speaker and gave a presentation on the UK Policy and Regulatory Challenges arising from new Aviation Technologies and he was also our guest speaker for March 2024 talking about airport systems in relation to capacity issues. 

SASIG members’ issue specific workshops

As per pre-pandemic, SASIG also considers whether to hold issue specific workshops reflecting key areas of policy likely to be of interest to members. With meetings continuing to be held virtually, these workshops have now more or less formed part of the main meeting with presentations to members by guest speakers. SASIG actively encourages representatives and colleagues from within the industry such as DfT, CAA, AOA, AEF, FoF, DEFRA and HSPG along with non-member authorities to join SASIG members during these presentations.

SASIG Chairman along with the Policy Director have set up a SASIG Drone Bureau whose aim will be to provide members with specific knowledge and advice relating to drones, their regulation and usage.

SASIG Chairman’s Advisory Group (CAG)

Dates held – 29 June, 27 September 2023 and 8 February 2024 (all virtual)

The SASIG Chairman’s Advisory Group (CAG) meets approximately 4 weeks prior to formal SASIG meetings, with additional meetings called to discuss specific topics as required. CAG has supported the Group with consideration of overarching issues, and review / comment on agenda papers for full SASIG meetings, including formal responses to consultations.