Ministry of Defence
Main Building
Whitehall
London SW1A 2HB
United Kingdom
Ref: FOI2018/02051
E-mail:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Mr Stephen George
request-463600-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
5 March 2018
Dear Mr Stephen George
Thank you for your email of 8 February requesting the following information:
“I request a listing of companies that have acted as Design Authorities for Viking and Vigilant
aircraft since their entry into service. For your information, this date appears to have been
around 1984.
I further request copies of DAOS expositions (formal submissions), DAOS related audit
reports, and formal DAOS certification documents for the companies so authorised.
Please note that this request is not limited to authorisations granted by the MAA under their
DAOS scheme instituted post 2010. A comprehensive Design Authority approval scheme
was already in place within the MoD when these aircraft were originally purchased.
To assist, I can confirm that Slingsby Aviation Limited were, in 2002, the 'designated Design
Authority' for the Viking aircraft. It is likely that this company was the original DA.
To further assist, I have accessed the MAA's Approved Companies listing on the website,
and I understand that the current DAOS authorisation (UK.MAA.DAOS.0153 for Marshalls of
Cambridge Aerospace Ltd) allows for 'Development of Viking Glider aircraft'. I would be
grateful for confirmation that this approval also covers design of modifications and approvals
of repair schemes. If this is self evident in the DAOS certification document that I have
requested, no separate confirmation is required.”
I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 (FOIA).
This letter is to inform you that the MOD holds information related to your request, but that we
believe the information falls within the scope of the following qualified exemption:
Section 43(2)
(Commercial Interests). As such it is necessary for us to decide whether, in all the circumstances
of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in
disclosure.
The Freedom of Information Act requires us to respond to requests promptly, and in any case no
later than 20 working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption
applies to the information and the public interest test has to be conducted, the Act allows the time
for response to be longer than 20 working days. A full response must be provided within such time
as is reasonable in all circumstances of the case and, in relation to your request, we estimate that
it will take an additional 20 working days to take a final decision on where the balance of public
interest lies. We therefore plan to let you have a response by 10th April 2018. If it appears that it
will take longer than this to reach a conclusion we will let you know.
If you have any queries regarding the content of this letter, please contact this office in the first
instance.
If you wish to complain about the handling of your request, or the content of this response, you can
request an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance team,
Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail
xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx).
Please note that any request for an internal review should be made within 40 working days of the
date of this response.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint directly to the
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally investigate your case until the
MOD internal review process has been completed. The Information Commissioner can be
contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be
found on the Commissioner's website at
https://ico.org.uk/. Yours sincerely
DSA Secretariat