Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of waste permit applications have taken longer than 12 months to process from point of first application to final determination in each of the last two years.

The Environment Agency prepares data for reports by Financial Year and this response includes information between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2020.

Cumulatively, over the last two years, 6.3% (166 of 2,639) of waste permit applications took longer than 12 months to determine.

Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, 6.5% (85 of 1,308) of waste permit applications took longer than 12 months to determine.

Between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020, 6.1% (81 of 1,331) of waste permit applications took longer than 12 months to determine.

Cumulatively, over the last two years the average length of time taken to determine a waste permit application is 129 days. This is broken down by reporting year as follows:

Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019 it was 131 days. Between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020 it was 128 days.

Cumulatively, over the last two years 21.2% (560 of 2,639) of waste permit applications took longer than six months to determine. This is broken down by reporting year as follows.

Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, 21.9% (287 of 1,308) of waste permit applications took longer than six months to determine.

Between 1 April 2019 and 3 March 2020, 20.5% (273 of 1,331) of waste permit applications took longer than six months to determine.