The Joint Aviation Requirements for Flight Crew Licensing (JAR-FCL) Private Pilots’ Licence (PPL) was introduced on 01 July 1999, following the signing of the 1990 Cyprus Arrangements that bound the United Kingdom to comply with Joint Aviation Authority regulation. The JAR-FCL PPL(A) was more onerous and placed greater training, testing, renewal and revalidation requirements on licence holders than the UK Private Pilots’ Licence. This discouraged a number of private pilots in the United Kingdom, and private pilots’ licence issues declined after the introduction of the JAR-FCL PPL.
In addition, the JAR-FCL PPL(A) was issued for 5 years as opposed to the lifetime validity of the UK PPL(A).
The requirement to hold a JAA Class 2 medical was also more onerous than the CAA Class 3 medical of earlier years.
To encourage sport and recreational flying following the introduction of Joint Aviation Regulations, the United Kingdom introduced the National Private Pilots’ Licence in July 2002. The NPPL is a sub-ICAO pilot licence that is not compliant with Joint Aviation Requirements; consequently it only confers privileges within United Kingdom airspace, to aircraft of certain classes that are of a mass restricted to 2000kg and below.
32 hrs + 2 tests works out at about 35 hours - the same as the UK PPL used to be in around 1968 if conducted at 'approved schools'.
Basically, the JAR-FCL PPL(A) course was too gold-plated for many; the shorter NPPL course often requires more than 35 hours, but given good continuity and reasonable weather, should easily be 'do-able' in the UK over the period of a month. It doesn't include the radio navigation requirements of the PPL, but concentrates slightly more on core flying skills.