§ 110. Sir Hugh RossiTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the light of recent announcement that many major planning applications will require environmental assessments in accordance with EC directive 85/337 from 3 July, he has any proposals to streamline the development control system at local authority level in order to reduce delays in handling planning applications.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe expect only a small proportion of applications to require environmental assessment in accordance with EC directive 85/337. The figures which we publish quarterly show that a significant proportion of authorities find it perfectly practicable to deal with planning applications promptly under the existing system. We have commended to all authorities the National Development Control Forum's recent guidelines for the handling of planning applications.