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Council for Nature Conservation and

the Countryside

Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she expects to receive the fifth report of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside; and if she will make a statement. [91254]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I expect to receive the fifth report from the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside before the end of 1999.

Paramilitary Violence

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list for (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999 the number of crimes attributed to paramilitary organisations committed in Northern Ireland. [91435]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 July 1999]: Statistics for crimes attributed to paramilitary organisations are collated under the headings in the following tables which show the number of incidents recorded as being of paramilitary style during the years (a) 1997 (b) 1998 and (c) 1999 to 15 July 1999.

Crimes attributed to paramilitary organisations

	Deaths	Shootings	Bombings
1997	22	225	78
1998	55	211	127
1999 (to 15 July)	6	74	54

Casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks

	Shootings	Assaults
1997	72	156
1998	72	144
1999 (to 15 July)	46	89

Notes:

1. Figures may be subject to minor amendment.

2. Figures cannot be attributed to specific paramilitary groupings.

3. The above may not be exhaustive as there may be some offences, e.g. armed robbery, which may be linked to paramilitary groups but they have been recorded under the category of offence and it is not possible to be more specific.

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list for (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999 the number of (i) punishment beatings and (ii) punishment shootings which took place in Northern Ireland, indicating how many in each category were committed by (1) Loyalist and (2) Republican groups. [91436]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 15 July 1999]: The table shows the number of casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks over the last three years.

Casualties as a result of paramilitary style attacks

	Shootings		Assaults
Year	Loyalist	Republican	Loyalist	Republican
1997	46	26	78	78
1998	34	38	89	55
1999(2)	25	21	56	33

(2) Up to-incl. 11 July

Note:

1999 figures are provisional

20 Jul 1999 : Column: 464

New Deal (Young People)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals her Department has recruited under the New Deal for Young People. [91897]

Mr. Paul Murphy: As at 30 June 1999 the information on the Northern Ireland Civil Service (including its Agencies) participating as employers in the New Deal is as follows:

Northern Ireland Civil Service

New Deal 'starts' since programme began	Number
Age 18-24	21
25 and over	12
Total	33

I would also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) on 25 May 1999, Official Report, column 116.

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Travel

Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many kilometres have been travelled on his Department's business in each of the last three years broken down by (a) foot, (b) bike, (c) bus, (d) train, (e) tram, (f) light-rail, (g) plane, (h) motorbike, (i) car, (j) taxi, (k) river-taxi and (l) other modes of transport; what plans and targets his Department has to reduce the kilometres travelled by private transport by his Department's employees; and if he will make a statement. [91019]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 13 July 1999]: The information on business travel is not collected in the form requested and therefore cannot be provided. As published in the Integrated Transport White Paper in July 1998, the Government have set a target that all Government Department headquarters buildings occupied by Executive Agencies and Government Offices for the Regions should have green transport plans by March 1999 and all other key buildings by March 2000.

We have completed a green transport plan covering all our headquarters and main buildings. Being located in central London, this Department is already well placed for staff commuting, with virtually all staff using public transport. Proposals therefore concentrate on discouraging business travel by private car by reviewing mileage rates, encouraging cycling, converting official vehicles to use cleaner fuels and reducing deliveries.

Lilleshall National Sports Centre

Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what investment is planned in Lilleshall National Sports Centre to improve standards among British sports people. [91508]

20 Jul 1999 : Column: 465

Mr. Banks: Lilleshall National Sports Centre will be the part of the UK Sports Institute Network Centre serving the West Midlands. The Centre has a wide range of a sports specific and generic training facilities which include up to date gymnastics training facilities, natural and artificial turf pitches and indoor training halls.

The key services of sports science and medicine will be co-ordinated by the Lilleshall Sports Injury and Human Performance Centre, supported by Staffordshire and Worcester Institutes of Higher Education; Birmingham University will play a crucial role in both service and facility provision. A network of Sports Medicine practitioners will be established to provide primary care services and formal links will be established with hospitals to provide essential secondary and tertiary care for athletes.

Other sites will be incorporated into the regional network to complement the services available at Lilleshall and extend the range of sports available in the region.

The sports expected to be included within the West Midlands Network are:

archery

athletics

cricket

football

golf

gymnastics

hockey

netball

squash

equestrian.

Around 200 elite, international and national athletes currently living in the west midlands will be able to use the services available.

Press Officer

Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will publish the criteria applied to the recruitment of his Department's new press officer; how many applicants there were for this post; how many were shortlisted; how this post was advertised; who was on the selection panel; and what salary this post carries. [91948]

Mr. Chris Smith [holding answer 19 July 1999]: In selecting the Head of News for my Department in summer 1998 the following criteria were used: people management, resource management, ability to inspire confidence, ability to communicate with impact, ability to add value to decisions, and knowledge of the system. Thirty two candidates applied of which seven were shortlisted for interview, and five were actually interviewed. The post was advertised in The Guardian.

The selection panel comprised two members of the Management Board of the Department, a senior representative of the Government Information and Communication Service and a Civil Service Commissioner.

The post carries a salary in the range of £36,517 to £56,198.

20 Jul 1999 : Column: 466

HOME DEPARTMENT

MOD Police

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received by the Police Complaints Authority against the Ministry of Defence Police in each year since they were granted statutory constabulary powers. [92165]

Mr. Boateng: I understand from the Police Complaints Authority that the number of complaints dealt with in respect of the Ministry of Defence Police since 1987 when they were granted statutory constabulary powers is as set out in the table:

Year	Number of complaints
1987	22
1988	93
1989	86
1990	225
1991	143
1992	75
1993	46
1994-95(3)	58
1995-96	75
1996-97	44
1997-98	53
1998-99	47

(3) Statistics have been kept on a financial year basis from 1994

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