Inquiry Reporters Unit: Review of the Year 2001/02
Introduction by the Chief Inquiry Reporter
Welcome to the Review of the Year 2001/2002 for the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit.
At the end of March 2002 a number of changes were taking place within the Unit, not least the retirement of the Chief Reporter Richard Hickman, my appointment to take over from him, and the appointment of Mike Culshaw, from the Planning Inspectorate in England, as Deputy Chief Reporter. Those changes, along with other pressures on the work of the Unit, have resulted in the delay in issuing this report.
You will notice some changes from the format used in earlier years. In place of the more narrative style used in the past you will now find a series of sections containing tables that explain the progress of the Unit in each of its areas of work. A short explanation of the figures accompanies each table. This simpler format is intended to present the data in a more useful way. Any comments on the content of the report are welcome, and will be taken into account in producing next year's report.
One omission from this report is the list of personnel and group photographs that you will have found in Appendix 3 of the last report. The staff changes that have taken place since the year-end would have resulted in these being out of date. However, we intend to resume this pleasant tradition for the next business year.
I would not wish to complete this introduction to the review of the year without thanks to my predecessor Richard Hickman who was rewarded with a CBE upon his retirement.
James McCulloch
Chief Inquiry Reporter
Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit
2 Greenside Lane
Edinburgh EH1 3AG
Telephone 0131 244 5649
Facsimile 0131 244 5680
E mail seiru@scotland.gov.uk
Web pages www.scotland.gov.uk/planning_appeals/seiru
February 2003