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Flood Drainage

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what representations he has made to Ofwat on the responsibility of the water industry for funding drainage improvements following the recent floods. [160247]

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Mr. Robert Ainsworth: The responsibilities of the sewerage undertaker are prescribed in the Water Industry Act 1991. At the periodic review the Director General of Water Services, sets companies' price limits and within this framework it is for each sewerage undertaker to determine its priorities. Ofwat and my officials are currently discussing the causes of sewer flooding and possible remedies.

Rail Franchises (Wales)

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress has been made in restructuring the railway franchise system in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [160613]

Mr. Hill: Arriva plc in conjunction with Connex Transport UK Ltd., FirstGroup plc, National Express Group plc and Serco Rail have been shortlisted by the Strategic Rail Authority to prepare Best and Final Offers for the new Wales and the Borders franchise. The Authority has announced the conclusion of negotiations to restructure and reorganise some of the existing franchises which will be affected. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Highways (Flood Damage)

Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to give local authorities assistance to help them with the damage to highways caused by the recent floods. [160721]

Mr. Hill: We have decided to give extra assistance this year to those English authorities where the cost of dealing with flood damage to their highways would absorb a high proportion of their available resources for highway maintenance. Officials are writing to authorities seeking up to date information on the cost of flood damage before the final level of support is determined, but on the basis of the information we have received to date it is likely that the total payments nationally will be in the region of £12 million.

Marine Environment

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how he proposes to meet the Government's aims of achieving sustainable development and maintaining biodiversity in the marine environment. [160727]

Mr. Meacher: My Department is leading a review of marine nature conservation looking specifically at how to address this matter. The interim report of the review, which has recently been presented to Ministers, sets out a number of recommendations aimed at meeting these aims. I have today agreed to the publication of the interim report on my Department's website and placed copies in the Libraries of the House.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Plastic Baton Round (Alternative)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to consult victims' organisations over the acceptability of alternatives to the plastic baton round. [158792]

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Mr. Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has made clear that he would welcome representations from any group or organisation on this issue. Naturally, when it is appropriate to do so, we will consult widely on the question of acceptability.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what means he advertised for the post of project manager for the Project Board of the Steering Group set up to examine alternatives to the plastic baton round; and what the (a) job description, (b) personal specification for the appointment and (c) remuneration for the post is. [158791]

Mr. Ingram: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has approved the appointment of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Michael Messinger as programme co-ordinator, on a part-time basis. The position was not advertised. I will publish a copy of the terms of reference for the post when they have been finalised.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has participated in with the objective of incorporating an independent element in his research into a less potentially lethal

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alternative to the plastic baton round and commissioning a social impact assessment of alternatives to the plastic baton round. [158790]

Mr. Ingram: In line with the Patten Commission report, full account will be taken of public acceptability and all other relevant issues in our continuing efforts to identify alternatives to the baton round. The project board established to lead the research project will continue to consult widely and I will be meeting various interest groups concerned with this issue over the coming months.

RUC (Recruitment)

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list, in respect of each of the recruitment competitions to the RUC from 1995 to date the (a) number and (b) percentage of (i) applicants and (ii) candidates offered appointment, broken down by perceived community background, who took up appointments in the (1) RUC and (2) full-time RUC Reserve. [157607]

Mr. Ingram: The tables show the breakdown of applications for recruitment to the Royal Ulster Constabulary from 1995 to the last recruitment campaign in December 1998 and the corresponding number of successful applicants in percentage terms.

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Applications/acceptances to RUC from 1995-98 by gender and community background

	Regulars--Applications
	CB1			CB2			CB3
	M	F	T	M	F	T	M	F	T	Total
Comp C 1995	838	611	1,449	296	171	467	113	29	142	2,058
Comp D 1995	1,113	661	1,774	269	169	438	158	30	188	2,400
Comp E 1996	983	588	1,571	236	133	369	129	26	155	2,095
Comp F 1996	1,312	741	2,054	261	145	406	242	27	269	2,729
Comp G 1997	1,368	804	2,172	253	159	412	188	25	213	2,797
Comp H 1998	1,332	802	2,134	270	161	431	228	32	260	2,825
Comp I 1998	1,414	898	2,312	470	280	750	246	51	297	3,359

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Regulars--Acceptances

	CB1			CB2			CB3				Percentage
	M	F	T	M	F	T	M	F	T	Total	of total applications
Comp C 1995	84	14	98	18	2	20	8	1	9	127	6.2
Comp D 1995	124	14	138	20	4	24	15	0	15	177	7.4
Comp E 1996	103	22	125	10	3	13	5	0	5	143	6.8
Comp F 1996	75	19	94	13	1	14	14	0	14	122	4.5
Comp G 1997	79	17	96	13	2	15	9	0	9	120	4.3
Comp H 1998	80	45	125	9	3	12	7	0	7	144	5.1
Comp I 1998	72	38	110	9	9	18	4	1	5	133	4.0

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Full-time reserves--Applications

	CB1			CB2			CB3
	M	F	T	M	F	T	M	F	T	Total
Comp B 1995	635	407	1,042	167	115	282	105	25	130	1,454
Comp C 1996	654	421	1,075	154	101	255	90	11	101	1,431
Comp D 1997	753	402	1,155	109	75	184	113	22	135	1,474
Comp E 1997	376	236	612	60	46	106	43	12	55	773
Comp F 1997	709	423	1,132	119	78	197	104	24	128	1,457

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Full-time--Acceptances

	CB1			CB2			CB3				Percentage
	M	F	T	M	F	T	M	F	T	Total	of total applications
Comp B 1996	12	7	19	4	0	4	2	1	3	26	1.8
Comp C 1996	66	63	129	14	10	24	7	1	8	161	11.3
Comp D 1997	19	5	24	0	0	0	3	2	5	29	2.0
Comp E 1997	25	4	29	2	1	3	3	0	3	35	4.5
Comp F 1997	31	19	50	3	2	5	3	0	3	58	4.0

Notes:

CB1--Perceived Protestant

CB2--Perceived Roman Catholic

CB3--Others/Undetermined

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