§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the planning applications for opencast coal mining sites he has received; which companies made the applications; and what his decision has been in each case since 1990. [5884]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordThis information is not held centrally. It is for mineral planning authorities in the first instance to decide whether planning permission should be granted for opencast coal mining. Statistics are published annually for the County Planning Officers Society by Durham county council.