§ Mr. Ripponasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he is making into pre-inquiry meetings and other measures aimed at shortening public inquiries and improving inquiry procedures; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John SilkinPre-inquiry meetings and early exchange of statements are being arranged in appropriate major cases to test which procedures are most useful for each type of case. Inspectors are fully aware of the importance of keeping proceedings short and to the point.