§ Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthornasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the report of the public inquiry into the A303 Stonehenge improvement scheme was delivered by the inspector to the Secretary of State by the target date of September 2004; whether and 112WA when the report will be published; and when the Secretary of State will respond to the report and indicate future plans for the improvement scheme. [HL1105]
§ Lord Davies of OldhamThe inspector's report was received on 31 January 2005. There was no target set for receipt of the inspector's report following the close of an inquiry. Under a service level agreement, the Planning Inspectorate gives the inspector three working days for each sitting day of the inquiry to write his report, plus an additional 20 days for administration purposes. But it is accepted that this process can take longer on exceptional schemes, such as this, because of the complexity of the submissions and representations made to the inspector at the inquiry.
A decision will be announced by the First Secretary of State and the Secretary of State for Transport jointly as soon as possible after careful consideration of the inspector's report. The report will be published with their decision.