available in the form last published in 1992; and if so, whether they will publish them.

Letter to Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover from the Chief Planning Inspector of the Planning Inspectorate, dated 13th May 1996.

The Secretary of State for the Environment has asked me to reply to your Question about the appeal statistics published by the Planning Inspectorate.

Publication of quarterly performance figures was stopped when the Inspectorate became an Executive Agency in April 1992. The decision was made partly because these figures had never excited much interest (yours is in fact the first inquiry about them since then) but mainly because since its launch the agency has been set a range of key targets by Ministers. These are announced in the Official Report and published in our corporate documents. The targets set covered the handling time and unit cost of written planning appeals, the total volume of appeals decided as well as others designed to improve the efficiency and quality of our work. In addition, in its annual Business plan, the inspectorate publishes details of the internal targets that cover its performance in handling a range of appeal work by various procedures. The outcome of each year's work including a summary of how well we did against all our targets is a significant component of the inspectorate's annual report and accounts. It was felt that this full explanation of the inspectorate's performance would meet the needs of the majority of those who use our services more effectively than the previous arrangements.

The information on which the old quarterly returns was based is still collected and I attach copies of the quarterly performance returns covering the period to the end of December 1995. This picks up your specific question but you may also be interested to see copies of our latest business plan and annual report and accounts which both provide much more information about the inspectorate's business.

We are always glad to make up to date information on our performance available on request. Please let me know if you need any more.