To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the role played by the Gloucestershire tri-service centre during recent floods and water shortages. (154929)

[holding answer 10 September 2007]: A review of the wider lessons learned is to be carried out by the Cabinet Office, with support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Communities and Local Government. This will examine the emergency response to the floods in June and July and consider how to reduce the risk and impact of floods in the future. The role performed by the Gloucestershire tri-service centre will be taken into account as part of this wider exercise.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will review the decision to break up the Gloucestershire tri-service centre. (154930)

[holding answer 10 September 2007]: The Gloucestershire tri-service centre will not be broken up. The centre will continue to house staff from all three emergency services and support tri-service working after the control room of the fire and rescue service is moved to the South West Regional Control Centre. The Government are committed to creating a new national network of nine resilient regional control centres which will enhance the ability of the Fire and Rescue Service to respond to major incidents and natural disasters in a co-ordinated, efficient and effective manner. We believe that the public will be better protected by this approach. The new Regional Control Centres will however build on the valuable lessons learnt on joint working from the tri-service pilots, including the recent experience of dealing with flooding in Gloucestershire.