§ 21. Mr. Doddsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what decisions have been reached in respect of the application to use sites at Cuxton and Wateringbury in Kent as caravan sites for gypsies and other travellers.
§ Mr. CorfieldPublic inquiries into these applications were held respectively on 2nd April and 28th March last but my right hon. Friend has not yet received the reports of the inspectors concerned. He hopes, however, it will not be long before he is able to announce his decisions.
§ Mr. DoddsWhile thanking the Parliamentary Secretary for what he has said, may I ask him to explain why when an inquiry like this is held under the auspices of his Department it takes such a long time before the Report comes to the Minister?
§ Mr. CorfieldI am sure the hon. Member and the House will appreciate that to compress the hearings of perhaps a day or two or three days into a readable and sensible report takes time and the inspectors' programme is fixed a long time ahead so that it is not always possible to provide free days for this purpose.