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Regional Development Agencies

Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the national time commitment for the chairmen of the regional development agencies; and how many (a) male and (b) female members of the board of each regional development agency there are. [144153]

Ms Beverley Hughes: Chairmen of RDAs are contracted to work for 2 days each week. The number of male and female board members for each RDA is shown in the following table.

8 Jan 2001 : Column: 384W

	Board members
RDA	Male	Female	Total
Advantage West Midlands	11	3	14
East of England Development Agency	10	3	13
East Midlands Development Agency	10	4	14
North West Development Agency	9	4	13
One NorthEast	10	3	13
South East of England Development Agency	10	5	15
South West Regional Development Agency	10	3	13
Yorkshire Forward	9	4	13

8 Jan 2001 : Column: 385W

Water Meters

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what targets he has set for water preservation via the installation of water meters. [143958]

Mr. Mullin: No specific targets have been set for the gains in water efficiency to be achieved by metering. Metering has a role to play alongside other measures in promoting the sustainable management of water resources. The Government have a "twin track" approach, in which future requirements for water are to be met by demand management as well as resource development. Water companies have also been placed under a duty to promote the efficient use of water by their customers.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many water meters have been installed in each of the last five years in (a) new and (b) old properties. [143959]

Mr. Mullin: The Office of Water Services collects and publishes information on water customers taking metered supplies in England and Wales in its annual report "Tariff structure and charges", copies of which are in the Library. The numbers of household properties where water meters were installed in England and Wales in each of the past five years was as follows:

Household water meters installed, England and Wales

	New properties	Existing properties	Total households
1995-96	155,435	107,293	262,728
1996-97	159,718	278,183	437,901
1997-98	171,722	559,156	730,878
1998-99	171,247	486,043	657,290
1999-2000	177,597	352,997	530,594

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what guidance he has given to water companies on advertising the option to fit water meters at no charge. [143957]

Mr. Mullin: My Department has published a free information leaflet, "Water Metering: Your new rights", setting out household water customers' new rights under the Water Industry Act 1999, including the new right to free meter installation. Copies were supplied to all water companies and have been distributed widely through such routes as Citizens Advice Bureaux, libraries, benefits offices and local authorities.

Traffic Management Schemes

Mr. Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to ensure that all traffic management schemes are subjected to cost/benefit analysis and that the results of the analysis are in the public domain. [143933]

Mr. Hill: We have no plans to reduce the present threshold (gross costs which exceed £5 million) at which

8 Jan 2001 : Column: 386W

local authorities proposing major local transport schemes are required to submit a detailed appraisal in order to be eligible for Government support for their scheme.

For schemes below this threshold, the Government now allocate resources in response to overall programmes and strategies rather than to individual schemes. However, we expect authorities to appraise their programmes in accordance with guidance that we have issued and for components of such programmes to be justified in their own right. In cases where the impacts of components are substantial, formal appraisal is particularly important, even if the cost is less than £5 million. We have also made clear that we may ask authorities to provide such evidence to justify particular components of their local transport plans.

Local authorities are under a general statutory duty to place reports which have informed decisions taken by councillors into the public domain, except where such documents contain exempt or confidential information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. All local transport plans are public documents.

For roads that are the responsibility of the Highways Agency, all improvement schemes, including traffic management schemes, are assessed using the new approach to appraisal. For schemes subject to statutory procedures, the results are placed in the public domain automatically; for other schemes, they are made available on request.

Housebuilding

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will estimate the percentage of new houses which were built on previously developed land in (a) the South-West and (b) the former Avon area in (i) 1976 to 1996 and (ii) 1996 to date. [144366]

Ms Beverley Hughes: Estimates are currently available for 1989 to 1996 only, which show, as an average for the period, that 38 per cent. of new dwellings in the South-West were built on previously developed land and 35 per cent. in the former Avon area. These figures exclude conversion of existing buildings, which is estimated to add about 3 percentage points to the annual recycling rate for England. The Government have proposed a 50 per cent. recycling target for the South-West.

Pagham

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the compulsory purchase orders proposed for the Pagham area of West Sussex by the Environment Agency. [143156]

Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.

I am replying as the only such order relates to flood defence. The Environment Agency proposed a compulsory purchase order for the River Lavant flood alleviation scheme in June 2000, which included land at Pagham. Discussions about the proposal continue with both landowners and this Department.

8 Jan 2001 : Column: 387W

NORTHERN IRELAND

Royal Irish Regiment

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recommendations were made by the Special Investigations Branch, Royal Military Police concerning the Royal Irish Regiment group photograph published in The Andersontown News on 15 January; how many have been implemented; and if he will place in the Library the non-personnel conclusions and police recommendations of the SIB report. [143753]

Mr. Spellar: I have been asked to reply.

The Special Investigations Branch of the Royal Military Police investigated the circumstances surrounding of the publication of the photograph published in the Andersontown News on 15 January. There were no recommendations. It is not Departmental policy to disclose Service police reports to persons or bodies outside the Department as a matter of course. These reports are prepared for internal administrative purposes and are considered confidential to the Department. The main points to arise from the investigation were addressed in my letter to you of 28 September, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the result was of administrative action taken against the Company Commander found responsible for arranging the Royal Irish Regiment group photograph, published in the Andersonstown News on 15 January; what consideration was given to taking action against those who posed for the photograph; what contacts the RIR unit has had subsequently with the Loyal Orange Lodge; on what date further guidance about posing with sectarian emblems was issued to units deployed around the Drumcree area; what guidance is available to units of the RIR deployed elsewhere in Northern Ireland; and if he will place a copy of the further guidance in the Library. [143752]

Mr. Spellar: I have been asked to reply.

The Administrative action against the Company Commander, who took the photograph that appeared in the Andersonstown News on 15 January, is still progressing through the Army chain of command. No action was considered against those who posed for the photograph. Units of the Royal Irish Regiment do not have any official contact with the Orange Order, however, individual members may do so on a personal basis. Further guidance about posing with sectarian emblems was issued to units with the three Infantry Brigade on 3 April 2000, which was in addition to the guidance sent to all units throughout the Province on the 10 March 2000. Relevant extracts of the guidance will be placed in the Library of the House.

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