Commentary Part 1 – Airports Schedule 2: Appeals under sections 24 and 25 Part 3: Automatic suspension of condition of new licence or modification
128.This Part of the Schedule provides for the automatic suspension of relevant financial arrangements conditions when they are appealed under section 24 (conditions of new licences) or section 25 (modification of licence conditions). “Modification” includes adding a relevant financial arrangements condition to an existing licence as well as altering an existing financial arrangements condition. A “relevant financial arrangements condition” is one that is subject to an exception relating to financial arrangements entered into by the licence holder (or a connected person) pre-dating the coming into force of section 3. It also includes financial arrangements effected after section 3 came into force where they are made pursuant to other financial arrangements affected before that date. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that a relevant financial arrangements condition included in a new licence does not have effect until the appeal against the decision is determined or withdrawn, or to preserve the current position where the removal or restriction of an exception to such a condition in an existing licence is proposed. The underlying reason is that without such a provision an appeal may prove nugatory where it cuts across existing financial arrangements.