To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) to detail the average time taken to respond to planning applications by the Natural Environment Division; and (ii) how many planning applications relating to the Strangford constituency, including the Ards and North Down Borough Council area and the Rowallane District Electoral Area of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, are awaiting statutory response from Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Most responses made by the Department to planning application consultations are a single collated response covering all relevant Departmental divisions rather than individual responses from each division. As such response rates are reported at a Departmental level. In 2019/20 the average time taken by the Department to respond to planning applications was 22 days. I acknowledge that the 2020/21 average response time is likely to be higher than this and that there is a frustration at the length of time taken to respond to some applications.

Improvement is required and officials in Natural Environment Division have implemented a number of measures to improve response rates and reduce the number of outstanding responses.

I am unable to provide the information in the format requested in part (ii) of the question as the Department does not hold planning consultation data at constituency or District Electoral Area level.