§ 21. Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the average time taken by local planning authorities to determine applications and by his Department to determine appeals.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe welcome improvement in the proportion of planning applications determined within eight weeks—from 60 to 69 per cent. between early 1980 and early 1981—fell to 62 per cent. in April-June 1981 when changes to the general development order and fees for planning applications were introduced. However, the latest figure of 64 per cent. for July-September shows a healthy sign of recovery.
The times taken to decide planning appeals continue to improve for all categories, particularly for inspectors' written representation cases—three-quarters of all. appeals—which now take a median time of 17 weeks compared with 21 weeks in early 1981 and 28 weeks in early 1980.
§ Mr. ChapmanI thank my hon. Friend for that welcome trend and the up-to-date information.