We live in a free country.
On the face of it, I think this was a pretty good report. But I'm not sure I agree with the final recommendation. The "Hazard" or top event is a collision. The solution to mitigate against this hazard must be effective and reasonable and we must remember we live in a free country. Both parties had the right to be where they were. Both would have their days ruined by contact.
So let's dismiss the recommendation. As Richard suggests, training people who don't need a licence who are free (as good as damn it) to operate from where ever they wish will achieve very little, if anything at all. But I disagree that large air transport aircraft should be prevented from flying in Class G airspace. Not only is that impractical (many airports can only be accessed from Class G airspace), we might end up no Class G airspace with "knee jerk" legislation. They'll be a civil servant muppet or worse, the Daily Mail, waving the "Safety Cosh". It would suit me, but we'd all lose another freedom.
Expanding Southend's CTA might not work either. These flying duvet covers will splutter all around the edges and most probably burgle the new zone. Not intentionally, but through ignorance (no insult intended) and the practical difficulties of map reading out in the open. It is also quite reasonable to assume that the density of microlights would be in greater just outside the CTA boundaries because their normal operating space will have been reduced.
Which leads us on to maybe a better solution. The "Gold Standard" might be the requirement for microlight to carry a Transponder and High Intensity strobe/s. The "Silver Standard" being one of either. And this would be a requirement if operating within X miles of CTA and/or above a certain height. A strobe would make the job of spotting microlights a lot easier and a transponder would give both Controllers and TCAS a fighting chance. This would still allow free access to Class G without permission and still enable "low-tech/low-budget" operations, all be it with some limitations.
PM