§ 18 and 19. Mr. Hendryasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what is the average delay between the date of planning appeals and the holding of inquiries concerning property in Scotland;
(2) what is the average delay between the date of application for compulsory purchase and similar orders and the holding of inquiries into these applications in Scotland.
§ Mr. LeburnThe average for planning appeals is 35 weeks, and for compulsory purchase and similar orders 33 weeks. This average is heavily weighted by a limited number of cases which, for special reasons, take an exceptionally long time.
§ Mr. HendryWill my hon. Friend not agree that such an average delay, which is very much worse than anything we have heard of in England, is today a very serious matter and can hold up most important projects connected with industry and housing and schools and lots of other things, and will he take steps to increase the number of reporters, if that is the cause of the trouble, either by paying members of the Bar increased fees [HON. MEMBERS: "Ah."]—or will he consider the further use of retired civil servants who have in many cases a great deal of administrative experience of this sort of thing and are extremely capable and are very often living on very small pensions?
§ Mr. LeburnI should certainly like to see these delays drastically reduced, but while I could not go so far as to say there is never any delay before the reporter fits in a particular case, I am satisfied that it is not normal for this to cause the delay.
§ Mr. G. M. ThomsonIs the Under-Secretary of State aware that these delays are quite disgraceful and, in certain cases, affect the supply of electricity to industry in Scotland and are likely to cause very serious damage? Instead of accepting his hon. Friend's plea to increase the fees of these advocates, who do this apparently as a spare time job, would the hon. Gentleman consider suggesting that they might 363 have a penalty on their fees if they do not produce reports in a reasonable time?
Mr. HeySurely my hon. Friend is entitled to an answer? There is a feeling in Scotland that far too many people engaged in the law are so busy in other directions that they regard this as a spare time occupation. If this is so, I should like to know what steps the Scottish Office proposes to take to put the matter right.
§ Mr. LeburnNormally, the reporters in planning appeals are not members of the Bar. As I tried to explain in my previous answer, the delay is not normally caused through the reporter. It is very much more normal for the delay to be caused through the need to await the observations of local authorities.