§ Dr. WhiteheadTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the refusal rate for waste disposal applications within the terms of county matters was for the last four quarters of the year. [126918]
§ Keith HillFor 'County Matter' applications, the provisional numbers supplied to this Office for the four quarters ending 31 March 2003 show a total of 105 refused applications among the 1,154 decisions on waste applications. This is a refusal rate of 9 per cent. As there are relatively small numbers of 'County Matter' applications made and decided each quarter, refusal rates for individual quarters can be quite volatile. In 2002–03, the quarterly refusal rates ranged from 7 per cent. to 12 per cent.