Farnborough have been nice to me in the past but we don't want to depend on them being reasonable for ever more.
They may not be able to be nice to you in the future. On 4th December this year the UK will be putting into force the Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA). One of the provisions relates to the need for a pilot to be at least 1,000 feet vertically distant from cloud for a visual clearance through controlled airspace and with a greater flight visibilty than now. The CAA's assessment of this change is:
Except for Special VFR in Control Zones (CTRs), scope for reduced flight visibility of less than 5 km below 3000 ft in the VMC minima at SERA.5001 is limited to Classes F and G airspace. This will result in the removal of the current Rule 27 and associated UK Difference to ICAO Annex 28, resulting in more restrictive operating conditions to that which currently exist in the UK FIRs. It is acknowledged that this may lead to pilots opting to route around affected Control Areas (CTAs) in deteriorating weather rather than seek clearances through the affected airspace. Alternatively it may compel pilots to request Special VFR (SVFR) or IFR clearance through CTRs with consequential impact on air traffic control workload. Both may lead to an increase in demand for air traffic services for which service providers may not always have the capacity to meet.
4.6.2 It is additionally recognised that prevailing traffic conditions within a CTR or CTA may be such that clearances to cross a particular airspace when most needed (i.e. in adverse or deteriorating weather conditions) may not be forthcoming. All may in turn contribute to the creation of bottlenecks in or around particular airspaces that lead to increases in the possibility of airborne conflict.
The change in VFR minima from current UK to the SERA standards are acknowledged to potentially lead to more pilots needing to reroute, or obtain a SVFR or IFR clearance in deteriorating weather. However, the CAA is of the view that, from an ATC perspective, the SERA procedures are simpler and ensure that VFR flight in CTR is conducted in meteorological conditions that ensure pilots are able to comply with their collision avoidance responsibilities in airspace within which ATC do not separate VFR flights from IFR flights.
The CAA is about to publish details of the changes plus an education programme.
(P.S. at the same time they introduce the semicircular rule to replace the quadrantal rule below FL195.)