§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the speed with which correspondence between Department of Environment offices in Bristol concerning footpaths and the Secretary of the Peak and Northern Footpaths Society has been dealt; and whether he has any plans to increase the number of officials dealing with footpaths and public rights of way.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyEvery effort is made to deal with all correspondence as quickly as possible, the resources necessary to deal with work on public rights of way are kept under review. There has been a substantial reduction in the time taken to decide opposed rights of way orders even though workload is increasing.