The Committee deliberated.

Draft Report [Air Traffic Control] proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Ordered, That the draft Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.-(The Chairman.)

Paragraphs 1 to 73 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 74 read, as follows:

74. In order to avoid the problems caused by the delays to the Swanwick project persisting for several years more, there is an urgent need for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to commission an independent audit to run in parallel with existing work, which should have a short and definite time limit, to establish answers to the following important questions:

• Whether the increasing demands on the personnel and equipment at LATCC are such that there is an increased risk of an accident
• Whether the software at Swanwick can be made to work or whether a simpler system should be used instead. Depending on the results of this study, a decision must be made as to whether the Swanwick software system should be abandoned
• Whether NATS has underestimated future traffic and therefore the air traffic control capacity that will be needed
• Whether dissimilar software systems should be used at Swanwick and at the New Scottish Centre.

Question put, That the paragraph stand part of the Report.

The Sub-committee divided.

 Paragraph agreed to.

Paragraph 75 read and agreed to.

Paragraph 76 read, as follows:

76. The contract for the New Scottish Centre must not be signed unless the independent audit of the software system which we have recommended shows that the software at NERC is capable of working properly.

Question put, That the paragraph stand part of the Report.

The Sub-committee divided.

 Paragraph agreed to.

Paragraphs 77 to 79 read and agreed to.

Resolved, That the Report be the Second Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

  [Adjourned till Wednesday 25 March at a quarter to Four o'clock.