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30. The Unit has enjoyed another successful year. There has been a significant increase in the number of cases received, but we have been able to cope with the flow, while improving performance for delegated decision times. More effort will be required to meet the public local inquiry targets. Revised inquiries procedure rules should help to streamline the process still further, and the continued use of more than one Reporter on large-scale inquiries should help keep reporting times to a minimum. Activity on local plan inquiries has reached a 5 year high with the prospect of a similar workload in the future. Successful court challenges of delegated appeal decisions remain at a very low level, and the number of complaints against the Unit has dropped to only 9. We intend to continue to monitor the costs and benefits of combining local plan and planning application/appeal inquiries, and using more than one Reporter on the larger tasks.
31. The Unit faces significant changes in the year 1999-2000. Devolution of power to the Scottish Parliament will probably bring closer scrutiny of the work of the Unit. The legislation and guidance under which we operate will continue to develop a distinctively Scottish dimension. We rely on computers to achieve high levels of efficiency, and, in common with the rest of the Scottish Executive, our systems have been checked for Year 2000 Compliance. These are challenges for which the Unit is prepared.
32. Our achievements depend on the sustained efforts of all the Unit's staff, and the co-operation of our colleagues in other parts of the Scottish Executive, and those representing planning authorities and applicants, together with their professional advisers, and the staff of other organisations and numerous individual members of the public. Once again, I am grateful to all of those who have contributed to our work and who have made this a successful year overall.
R M HICKMAN
Chief Reporter
Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit
Greenside Lane
December 1999
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