For those of you who presume, or imagine, that NPPL will cut your costs, just heed BEagle's clue:
'Personally I doubt whether many people will manage to reach NPPL Skill Test standard in 35 hours - but if they do, then they can take the tests.'
Despite his arithmetic, BEagle knows 35 hours is a joke and that the old racket will be alive and well with NPPL.
They won't allow you to take the test, or if you do, pass after the minimum hours. The point is that the school/ CFI/ FI/aircraft owner have a financial interest in maximising the hours you need.
They may not want you to fail and they definitely don't want you to give-up but the longer you take the more money they make.
Maybe the main purpose of NPPL is to allow a lower and misleading 'PPL price' to be advertised or quoted, on the basis of minimum hours, although most people will be forced to buy many more hours. Therefore, you might as well do the JAA PPL, with the likelihood that you will end up with a credible and more useful qualification for much the same money.
As the CAA have, apparently, had to get it all agreed by BEagle, is NPPL going to be a privatised, rather than an official, PPL?
Who will issue the NPPL?
Also, I was very sorry to hear that deanofs disability has degenerated into hysteria about women, ethnic minorities, age of consent etc. -none of which were mentioned by me.