§ 14. Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his current plans for speeding up the consideration of planning appeals.
§ Mr. OakesI would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25th June to hon. Member for Reading, North (Mr. Durant.)
§ Mr. FreudWill the Minister take steps to see that the procedure for appeal by representation is speeded up since it is causing severe hardship? There would need to be only a small number of inspectors in addition to the present number to speed up the procedure. When does the Minister propose to publish the results of the Dobry inquiry?
§ Mr. OakesWe are aware of and concerned about the long delay in planning appeals, but I remind the hon. Gentleman that in 1971 there were just over 9,000 appeals and in 1973 there were double that number—18,326. That is one cause of delay. I am happy to tell the hon. Gentleman that I think we have now turned the corner, because all regions have had a "blitz" on appeals. We hope that the Dobry Report will be out by the end of this year.