§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many letters he has received in support of the principle that appellants should meet the costs of planning appeals and how many in opposition to this proposal.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe Department's consultation paper "Efficient Planning", issued last July, included a proposal to introduce fees for planning appeals. This proposal attracted 127 responses in favour and 185 against. We are now considering all the responses to the paper.