Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
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Planning inspectorate annual report and accounts
The Minister for Housing and Planning Yvette Cooper today laid before the House a copy of the Planning Inspectorate's Annual Report and Accounts for 2006/07, which reveals that the Planning Inspectorate has met nearly two thirds of its targets this year, including its target to issue 80% of decisions within 10 weeks of the close of hearings.
The Report gives an overview of the performance of the Inspectorate and demonstrates the importance of a credible, accessible planning tribunal service which is open, transparent and impartial. It also highlights the ways in which the Inspectorate is supporting the Government's drive to create a faster and more effective planning system.
Yvette Cooper said:
"The Planning Inspectorate has a vital role to play in delivering the Government's reforms of the planning system. I am pleased that even though the Inspectorate's workload has risen by nearly 50% over 5 years, it has halved the time that it takes to hold hearings and inquiries. Despite the pressures on the system, the Inspectorate has continued to deliver a high quality service, and I commend everyone in the Inspectorate for this acheivement.
"The Planning White Paper proposes a significant tightening in the Inspectorate's targets to help deliver a more effective planning system. Those targets will be challenging, but I am confident that both the Inspectorate and the development community will be able to raise their game to meet them."
Ministers have decided that for 2007/08 the Inspectorate's targets should remain as they were in 2006/07.
The Inspectorate issued over 3,200 decisions following a hearing, compared to 2,000 in the previous year. Over 940 decisions were issued following inquiries, compared to 787 in the previous year.
The Minister has also confirmed, in conjunction with Jane Davidson AM, Minister for Sustainability and Rural Development for the Welsh Assembly, that the Inspectorate's targets for its main areas of casework in Wales in 2007/08 should remain unchanged.
Copies of the Report have been made available in the libraries of the House.
Notes to Editors
The Inspectorate's Annual report, together with full details
of the Inspectorate's work can be found on its web-site:-
http://www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk/
Full statistical information about the Inspectorate's work in 2006/07 will be published on the web-site in due course.
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