To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials are employed in the Planning Appeals Commission, broken down by grade. [127413]

The Planning Appeals Commission consists of 15 commissioners and four call-off panel commissioners, who are all statutory officeholders. There are also 18 administrative support staff who are civil servants provided by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. The breakdown by grade is as follows:

1 Chief Administrative Officer (Deputy Principal)

1 Executive Officer I

3 Executive Office II

7 Administrative Officers

2 Administrative Assistants

1 Personal

3 Typists

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the average length of time taken by the Planning Service in Northern Ireland to issue a final decision in respect of planning applications in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Belfast over the last three years. [125553]

The average time taken by the Department of the Environment's Planning Service to issue a final decision in respect of planning applications in Northern Ireland, and in Belfast over the last three years is as follows: