To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the work of the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB); and what the budget of the AAIB is for 2006-07. (103334)

The United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is an independent part of the Department for Transport and is responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK. It also assists in the investigation of military accidents on request and civil aircraft accidents overseas where there is a UK interest. The Chief Inspector of Air Accidents reports directly to the Secretary of State for Transport on safety matters.

Authority for the AAIB to investigate accidents originates from the Civil Aviation Act: The Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996.

The fundamental purpose of investigating accidents and incidents is to determine the circumstances and causes of the accident with a view to the preservation of life and the avoidance of accidents in the future, it is not to apportion blame or liability.

The total annual budget for the AAIB for 2006-07 is £8,108,000.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many individuals worked at the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), expressed as (a) headcount and (b) whole-time-equivalent, in each of the last five years; and whether any armed forces personnel, including from the armed forces of countries other than the UK worked for the AAIB, in each of the last five years. (103339)

The headcount for the AAIB for the years 2001-2006 is as follows:

No armed forces personnel from the UK or overseas were employed by the AAIB in the last five years.