§ Mr. Viggersasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if Her majesty's Government are satisfied with the speed with which local searches are answered in the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth.
§ Mr. Giles ShawI understand that local searches are currently taking four to five weeks in Wandsworth and eight weeks in Lambeth, and that both boroughs are now overcoming difficulties and reducing the time taken to respond to applications. The secretaries of the Association of County Councils, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities and the Association of District Councils wrote 289W to their member authorities in December emphasising the need to deal with applications as speedily as possible. I hope this action will have the desired effect.