§ 42. Mr. G. Thomasasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the number of appeals against the decisions of local planning authorities that have been waiting for six months or over to be heard by his Department; and whether he will make a statement.
§ The Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (Mr. Henry Brooke)On 29th March, out of 1,588 cases which had not yet been heard, seventy-five had been outstanding for over six months. Some of these had been held up at the request of the appellant, and others because he had not provided the necessary information.
§ Mr. ThomasIs not the Minister aware that a good deal of annoyance and frustration is being caused by these long 956 delays; and that in at least one case, to which I have drawn his attention, there was a delay of eleven months between the hearing of the appeal and the notification of the result? Will he try to hurry up decisions in these cases?
§ Mr. BrookeYes, Sir. As I explained in answer to the hon. Gentleman's original Question, most of these long outstanding cases occur either because the appellant is not ready or because further information is required. But I am not satisfied with the position in the remaining cases, and I shall do what I can to speed things up.