§ Mr. BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about future management arrangements for the Planning Inspectorate.
§ Mr. RidleyI propose to consider whether the planning inspectorate should become an executive agency within my Department. The change to agency status would enable the inspectorate to operate within an agreed framework of objectives and performance targets and would provide for greater management responsibility in the use of resources.
The organisational changes that I envisage would not in any way affect the inspectorate's functions, its policy accountabilty, nor the high standards of integrity and impartiality with which its work is carried out.