Forget the ANO......it was written by lawyers for lawyers. There is no need to ever read the ANO and the majority of pilots operating in UK airspace on a day to day basis will never have opened the document.
What is required however, is that every pilot reads the AIP which every pilot must read and understand before flight. If there are any differences from the ICAO International Standards then they will be in the AIP.
IMHO, this important point is where many training organisations (and pilots) fall down. Consequently, in general PPLs have great local knowledge of the home country rules but not a clue of the correct way to find the rules elsewhere.
From what I have seen, the CAA issue a licence to a pilot on gaining his PPL and then immediately take back some of the priviliges. There are all sorts of local UK rules that only apply to UK licence holders with regard to things like VMC minima and weather minima for special VFR.
Perhaps the CAA view the restrictions as assisting safety. However, I would argue that by making the rules so complicated, the restrictions have the opposite effect.
As an example - if it is safe for a French PPL operating in the UK (unfamiliar teritory and language) to accept a special VFR clearance in 4Km visibility then how can a UK PPL trained to the same standard, proficient in English and local knowledge need 5Km more than the basic VMC minima (10Km total) to get the same clearance?
Are the CAA stating that UK pilots are not trained to the same standard as French Pilots? or as I think......they use the complicated rules to encourage UK pilots into an IMC course simply to make things a little simpler?
As was stated earlier, the confusion is more a danger than anything else.
regards,
DFC