asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he is making in reducing the average time taken by his Department in determining planning appeals between receipt of the inspector's report and the announcement of his determination.

The great majority of appeals are now delegated to inspectors for determination. For undelegated appeals subject to public inquiry—which include the most difficult cases—the average time between receipt of the inspector's report and the issue of decision has remained at between eight to 10 weeks over the last three years. For undelegated appeals dealt with by written representations the average time has improved from between 10 to 13 weeks to between seven to nine weeks.