asked Her Majesty's Government:

My Lords, about 50 UK airlines currently hold air transport licences. We have more airlines than any other country outside the United States and our travellers are increasingly enjoying the benefits of competition on domestic and international routes.

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that very interesting Answer. Can he tell the House what contribution the aviation industry makes to the economy of our country? Can he also tell me what Her Majesty's Government have done to help the industry?

My Lords, certainly aviation provides about 80,000 jobs and contributes £620 million per year to our balance of payments. Also it accounts for nearly two-thirds of foreign tourists entering the UK. As regards what the Government have done to encourage aviation, we have strengthened competition within Europe and on the North Atlantic routes, and our airlines now have greater freedom to start up new routes and offer lower fares.

My Lords, the information given by the Minister is very interesting. However, should it not be noted that in reply to a simple question we can receive a vast amount of information from the Minister, but as regards supplementary questions on other subjects, it is very difficult to go beyond the Question on the Order Paper?

My Lords, I am not certain whether that question relates to the Question on the Order Paper. I was asked how many airlines there are in the United Kingdom and I gave the answer.

My Lords, can the noble Lord tell us how many of these airlines are running scheduled services?

My Lords, a great many of them are running scheduled services: some only run scheduled services; some run both scheduled and charter services. But, with the increasing blurring between the charter and the scheduled markets, a great many of the previous charter-only operators are now running scheduled routes.

My Lords, that answer illustrates the point which the noble Lord was making that some of us find it difficult to get detailed answers to our supplementary questions.