HC Deb 21 July 1981 vol 9 cc98-9W
Mr. James Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take further steps to expedite planning appeals.

Mr. Rifkind

We have taken a number of steps, including the delegation of almost all decisions to reporters and placing increased emphasis on the use of written submissions procedure, to speed up the appeal process. The operation of the appeals system is kept under regular review to facilitate further administrative changes wherever these will allow decisions to be reached more quickly without detracting from the quality of decisions taken.