CAA Accounts

[The500man]

Just wondering if anyone knows if the CAA publishes its financial records? I've had a look at their website but can't find anything for download. I'm particularly interested in the cost to the CAA of license issue/ renewal versus the charge to the customer. I recently heard they are required to generate a 6% return on their activities, but I find it hard to believe the cost of issuing a license plus 6% could possibly be as high as it currently is for PPL/ CPL. I therefore would like to know where the money is being spent?

If no one here has any insight into this I will endeavour to find out directly.

Thanks.

[Duchess_Driver]

I am sure they should be obliged to publish accounts...but where they are published I know not.

Would you be able to find out (even if they're not directly published) with a Freedom of Information request?

Don't get your hopes up for anything earth shattering being unearthed - we already know it's expensive and hardly justified for a licence renewal!

[Katamarino]

I would also be extremely interested in hearing whatever you manage to find out...! It would be nice to know HOW we are being ripped off, even if we can't do anything about it...

[Sepp]

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1743/CAA%2...2009_Final.pdf

[Sir George Cayley]

Nice photos

Sir George Cayley

[Sepp]

Bet they didn't come cheap.

[Whopity]

but I find it hard to believe the cost of issuing a license plus 6% could possibly be as high as it currently is for PPL/ CPL

You are quite right but items are not costed in that way. The CAA charge for some services and they have numerous functions that generate no income at all so the services they charge for are invariably well above the actual cost of producing those services. The 6% is what they have to pay the government.

According to stats in the latest edition of FTN, for the two months to 31 May 2010 the UK CAA generated a profit of £392,000, compared to a budgeted loss of £321,000.

With a turnover of around £70M thats less than .5% profit!

[The500man]

Thanks for the link Sepp, I've now had a look at the accounts, and the Pilling Review (referred to in the Chairman's statement), and also to the CAA charges consultation document for 2011/ 2012.

Firstly I did not realise that the CAA's regulatory activity was entirely funded by the aviation community as opposed to being partially or wholly government funded as aviation regulators in other countries are.

Personnel licensing at the CAA is a division within the Safety Regulation Group which as can be seen from the accounts has an approximate income of 60 million per annum and costs that are again approximately the same. This does not help with my initial question because it does not detail income/ expenditure against activities within the SRG.

I did however come upon the CAA charges consultation document which does detail proposed budget and forecast income/ expenditure against specific activities within the SRG and also breaks down those activities into their component parts.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority consultation - CAA charges 2011/2012 from the corporate tab (the original link doesn't work)

Within Personnel Licensing the forecast cost of administering Professional Pilots' Licenses is approximately 7.5 million against a forecast income of 7 million and for Private Pilots' Licenses 800 thousand against 1 million.

You are quite right but items are not costed in that way. The CAA charge for some services and they have numerous functions that generate no income at all so the services they charge for are invariably well above the actual cost of producing those services.

I understand that this is indeed the case where an activity that the CAA carries out as part of its duties that does not generate income is then shared between those it is expected to benefit. I don't understand how the CAA makes this determination but I can find no mention of this with regard to costs within Personnel Licensing.

It could well be that I'm not looking at the figures right but it would appear to me that the cost of issuing and maintaining licenses and ratings is indeed approximately equal to what is being charged and this brings me back to my original thought; how does it cost so much to issue/ renew a license?