To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Environment Agency's first flooding engineers to graduate from university and take up positions in the agency. (241507)

The first Environment Agency Foundation Degree students in flood and coastal engineering graduated from the University of the West of England in 2006. To date, 75 students have graduated and over 90 per cent. are employed by the Environment Agency as technician engineers.

There are currently 138 engineering graduates and students training with the Environment Agency under a national development programme that includes the Foundation Degree students, Masters Degree students from various universities and graduates under professional training agreements. The Environment Agency expects that 50 engineering staff will join its business each year by 2010 through this programme.