Risk assessments on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs)
Dear Civil Aviation Authority,
Noting that on 30th June 2021, in answer to a Parliamentary Question, the Baroness Gold stated that [the Ministry of Defence] “constantly monitors UK airspace to identify and respond to any credible threat to its integrity, and is confident in the existing measures in place to protect it”, please provide copies of any risk assessments (quantified or unquantified) that the Civil Aviation Authority has carried out to assure itself that the existing measures in place are sufficient to protect pilots and air passengers from any risks associated with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Please, further, provide copies of correspondence in relation to the risk from UAPs to and from air safety and regulatory bodies in the United States; and any guidance given to pilots about UAP risks.
It is envisaged that the risk assessments and correspondence requested will count as “general aggregated information on the level of air safety” and therefore the provision of this information to the general public is a requirement under Paragraph 32 of the Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (and retained in UK law in accordance with The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018). Further, it is expected the risk assessments and correspondence requested will not set out information collected either through occurrence reporting schemes or information from the European Central Repository for which information must be restricted (as set out in Paragraph 32 of Regulation 376/2014). Therefore Section 41(1)(a)(prohibitions on discourse) of the Freedom of Information Act will not be relevant to this request and would not be an adequate reason for the CAA to decline to provide the requested information. If the CAA decides to rely on Section 41(1)(a) as a justification for not providing the information, it is respectfully asked to offer a specific legal rationale as to the reasons for doing so, rather than a general statement about the applicability of Section 44(1)(a).
Yours faithfully,
John Priestland
Dear John Priestland,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request of 14 August 2023 to the
Civil Aviation Authority.
Your request is being handled under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA). We will endeavour to respond to your request
within the twenty-working day deadline provided by section 10(1) of the
Act; that is to say on or before 11 September 2023.
Should you wish to discuss any aspect of this request please quote
reference F0006417.
Freedom of Information Team
Information Rights Specialist
Civil Aviation Authority
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At the CAA we respect agile working so, while it suits me to send this
now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.
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Dear John Priestland,
Thank you for your recent information request; please find attached the
Civil Aviation Authorty’s response.
Freedom of Information Team
Information Rights Specialist
Civil Aviation Authority
Follow us on Twitter: [1]@UK_CAA
At the CAA we respect agile working so, while it suits me to send this
now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.
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From: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Sent: 14 August 2023 13:22
To: John Priestland <[FOI #1015122 email]>; FOI
Requests <[email address]>
Subject: RE: [External] Freedom of Information request - Risk assessments
on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) -F0006417
Dear John Priestland,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request of 14 August 2023 to the
Civil Aviation Authority.
Your request is being handled under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA). We will endeavour to respond to your request
within the twenty-working day deadline provided by section 10(1) of the
Act; that is to say on or before 11 September 2023.
Should you wish to discuss any aspect of this request please quote
reference F0006417.
Freedom of Information Team
Information Rights Specialist
Civil Aviation Authority
Follow us on Twitter: [2]@UK_CAA
At the CAA we respect agile working so, while it suits me to send this
now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.
Please consider our environment. Think before printing this email.
Dear Civil Aviation Authority,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Civil Aviation Authority's handling of my FOI request 'Risk assessments on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs)'.
The response that I have been given is very curious, especially the use of the phrase "on the balance of probability." This is a legal term, used in civil cases, where the judge concludes that something is more likely than not - on a 51%-49% probability. In other words, there may be a 49% probability of the opposite being true. The burden of proof is much lower than on a "beyond reasonable doubt" judgement in criminal cases.
Section 1(1) of the FOIA states:
“Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled –
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request...
The obligation, therefore, is for you to tell me whether you hold the information requested. This you have not done. Rather, you have told me that, on the balance of probability, you do not hold the information.
Please provide an unequivocal statement on whether you hold the information, as required by Section 1(1). It will then be for the Information Commissioner, not CAA, to make a determination as to whether she/he agrees and she/he may then decide to come to that judgement on the balance of probabilities.
The wider public policy point is clear: if public authorities can get away with saying that they do not hold information on the balance of probabilities, they could deny every request and never be proved wrong. If it turns out that the information did exist after all, they could always say that it fell within the 49% probability.
The point is that, of course, the CAA knows whether it has risk assessments on UAPs, whether it has corresponded with the US and whether it has issued guidance to pilots - because it is the CAA that has or has not done these things.
I look forward to hearing from you.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...
Yours faithfully,
John Priestland
Dear John Priestland
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request for an Internal review
with respect to the CAA’s information response given reference number
F0006417.
A reporting office not attached to the original handling of your enquiry
has been assigned. We aim to reply to you within 20 working days; that is
to say on or before the 29 September 2023.
Should you wish to discuss any aspect of this request please quote
reference F0006417.
Freedom of Information Team
Information Rights Specialist
Civil Aviation Authority
Follow us on Twitter: [1]@UK_CAA
At the CAA we respect agile working so, while it suits me to send this
now, I do not expect a response or action outside of your own working
hours.
Please consider our environment. Think before printing this email.
Dear John Priestland
Please find attached a response to your Internal Review IR-F0006417. This
relates to the response the CAA sent to you on 31 August 2023.
Best regards
External Response Specialist
Communications Department
UK Civil Aviation Authority
[1]www.caa.co.uk
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