Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

This capitulation is well represented in the amendment in the Bill known as the amendment to the withering will. Let us consider the reason the two year withering rule was included in the original legislation. This was due to the well known fact that planning applications were rushed to local authorities before the Act came into operation in order to avoid the 20% social and affordable housing provision. The figures have been bandied about. Some 44,000 planning applications will wither by the end of this year, with a further 36,000 set to wither in 2003. Those applications were made specifically to avoid the 20% rule and were due to expire after 31 December this year.