Aerodrome Licence Fee 2018

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A decision made on 5 December 2017:

Decision Reference: MD-E-2017-0045
Decision Summary Title :	Aerodrome Licence Fee 2018		Date of Decision Summary:	5th December 2017
Decision Summary Author:	Policy Manager, EDTSC		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title :	Aerodrome Licence Fee 2018 Report		Date of Written Report:	5th December 2017
Written Report Author:	Policy Manager, EDTSC		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Jersey Airport - Aerodrome Licence Fee 2018: approval
Decision(s): The Minister, acting in accordance with Article 14(2)(b) of the Civil Aviation (Jersey) Law 2008, endorsed the intention of the Minister for External Relations to set a fee of £107,150 for the issue, by the Director of Civil Aviation, of the Jersey Airport Aerodrome Licence for 2018.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Civil Aviation (Jersey) Law 2008 provides that the aerodrome may be licensed and that the Minister for External Relations shall determine and publish the fee payable on the grant or renewal of a licence, having sought and received the advice of the Ministers for Treasury and Resources and Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture. The Minister agrees the proposed licence fee, with the proviso that such fee may be adjusted by the Minister for External Relations during the year if necessary after further advice is received from the Director of Civil Aviation (DCA). The fee is intended to cover the cost of maintaining the Directorate of Civil Aviation, shared equally with Guernsey, which has responsibilities for the regulatory oversight of civil aviation safety and aviation security for Jersey Airport.
Resource Implications: This decision facilitates a payment of £107,150 from the Minister for External Relations to the DCA, (chargeable to the Ports of Jersey) for the reasons detailed above. There are no manpower implications.
Action required: Policy Manager, EDTSC to notify the Head of International Compliance of the Minister’s decision.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed) 5th December 2017

Aerodrome Licence Fee 2018

Civil Aviation (Jersey) law 2008

Jersey Airport Aerodrome Licence Fee for 2018

This report concerns the proposal of the Minister for External Relations to set a fee in the sum of £107,150 for the renewal of Ports of Jersey’s aerodrome licence for 2018.

Background

Article 6 of the Civil Aviation (Jersey) Law 2008 stipulates that the Minister for External Relations is responsible for ensuring that the Director of Civil Aviation has sufficient resources to enable the Director to discharge the functions of his or her office. The Minister must discharge that responsibility having secured advice from the Minister for Treasury and Resources and the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture.

Article 14 of the same Law states that the Minister for External Relations determines the fee payable for the grant or renewal of an aerodrome licence. Prior to setting the fee, the Minister is required to consult and secure advice from both the Minister for Treasury and Resources and the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture.

Jersey and Guernsey share a Director of Civil Aviation (DCA). The DCA’s office is based in Guernsey, albeit with IT support provided by a Jersey company. In practice Jersey is, by agreement, recharged proportionate costs by Guernsey. The aerodrome licence fee is set to cover these costs.

Ports of Jersey were charged £105,000 to renew the aerodrome licence for Jersey Airport in 2017 (see Ministerial Decision MD-E-2017-0012). The fee was equal to that charged in 2016.

Fee for 2018

The Minister for External Relations is minded to charge Ports of Jersey the sum of £107,150 to renew the aerodrome licence for Jersey Airport for 2018. This increased charge reflects the 2018 business plan of the office of the Director of Civil Aviation, which provides for slightly greater expenditure than the previous year. The increase is almost exclusively due to higher staff costs following a Guernsey civil service pay award. Proposed DCA expenditure in respect of obligations to Jersey is as follows –

Recharged staff Costs (recharged at 50%) £96,435

Recharged Office Expenditure (recharged at 50%) £ 5,715

Travel £ 5,000

Total £107,150

It is understood that Ports of Jersey have been apprised of the probable fee increase for 2018 and have not raised an objection.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to endorse the proposal of the Minister for External Relations to levy an aerodrome licence fee of £107,150 for 2018.