Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many Instant Rewards of what value were given to her Department's officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
My Department made 96 awards of amounts ranging from £100 to £500 under the Reward and Recognition scheme totalling £11,800 in 2013/14. 2013/14 figures reflect awards made in respect of work associated with the G8 conference.
In 2014, my Department has made 13 awards totalling £3,150 to date.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department has spent on legal fees over prevention of release of information requested by Freedom of Information requests since 2010.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
The Northern Ireland Office pays fees to the Treasury Solicitor’s Department for legal advice on a range of issues. To provide those fees which relate to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions her Department has had requests for appointments by exception to the Senior Civil Service turned down by the Civil Service Commission since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
The Civil Service Commission publish details of appointments made by exception and approved by them in their annual reports and on their website. These reports are available in the Library of the House. It would not be appropriate to publish details of the requests turned down by the Commission as the numbers involved are so small.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many Freedom of Information requests her Department has declined to answer in full since 2010.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publish annual statistical reports on the handling of requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for central government. They can be accessed via the following webpage:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions her Department has made appointments by exception since 2010; and who was appointed for each such post.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
My Department made appointments by exception as set out below.
Year | Number of Recruitments by Exception |
2012/13 | 11 |
2013/14 | 10 |
2014/15 to date | 3 |
Records prior to 2012 are not held.
The Civil Service Commission requires secondments from the NI Civil Service to be listed as an exception. Northern Ireland Civil Servants at grades below Senior Civil Servant were appointed on a secondment basis to all of these posts with the exception of one which was an appointment at SCS Pay Band 1 for the post of Deputy Director, Community Engagement Group. This post was also filled on a secondment basis by a member of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department spent on iPhones in each year since 2010.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
Since 2010, my Department has spent the following amounts per year on iPhones:
2010 - Nil
2011 - Nil
2012 - £2,042
2013 - £1,937
2014 - Nil
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what occasions each Minister within her Department has taken domestic flights on official business since May 2010.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Details of all Ministerial overseas travel is published on a quarterly basis.
I should add that on coming to office in May 2010, my predecessor ended the chartering of a private jet for routine travel between London and Belfast which had been the practice of previous Secretaries of State, including those in the last Labour Government. This has saved the taxpayer considerable sums of money.
Asked by: Lord Walney (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department spent on legal fees in cases relating to the release of information requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
The Northern Ireland Office pays fees to the Treasury Solicitor's Department for legal advice on a range of issues. The department is unable to provide those fees which relate to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as to do so would incur disproportionate costs.