§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many companies have been refused office development permits by the Location of Offices Bureau up to the latest available date in 1977; and what is his estimate of the number of jobs which would have beep created with each application.
§ Mr. ShoreThe issuing of office development permits is my responsibility and is not the responsibility of the Location of Offices Bureau. In the few years ended 31st March 1977 the number of applications refused were as follows:
478W
1973–74 174 1974–75 179 1975–76 122 1976–77 56 It is not possible to give an estimate of the number of jobs which would have been created had all these applications been granted because
- (a) the issue of an office development permit does not always lead to planning permission being granted or to new offices being built;
- (b) some applications which have been refused have been subsequently granted while others have been refused more than once, sometimes for development of another site.