asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average time between a council applying for loan sanction and a house-building scheme, and obtaining that permission from the Department.

The information is not readily available, but if my hon. Friend has a particular case of difficulty in mind, perhaps she should let me have the details.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce speedier procedures within his Department to ensure that when local authorities apply for loan sanction permission for council building there are no undue delays.

The recent increase in the basic yardstick, together with the continued availability of additional allowances to deal with abnormal local market conditions, should reduce delays at tender acceptance stage. My right hon. Friend is anxious to speed up all the procedures associated with housebuilding and he is urgently considering ways of doing so.