OFMdFM Spends £130,099 on Hospitality and Over £16 Million on Staff
21 December 2011
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Last month I highlighted the fact that Stormont ministers had failed to answer 39 of my written questions within the time limit stipulated by Standing Orders (i.e. 10 working days). The worst offender was the Office of co-First Ministers Robinson and McGuinness where 19 of my questions had not been responded to within 10 days.
“Answers to two of these questions were received yesterday and go some way to explaining why OFMdFM is often so reluctant to respond to my probing.
“On 28th October I tabled the following question: To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail (i) the persons or bodies to whom their Department has provided hospitality; and (ii) the cost of providing this hospitality in each of the last 12 months.
“Mr Robinson and McGuinness have replied that the cost of hospitality amounted to £130,099. In six of the 12 months covered by the answer the cost has exceeded £12,000. In November 2010 alone £15,919 was paid out while in September 2011 a staggering £16,412 was spent by the Department.
“More remarkable still is the fact that Mr Robinson and McGuinness cannot tell us who the hospitality was provided to because they say: “A breakdown is not held centrally on the financial accounting system of whom hospitality has been provided for.”
“There will be many people in Northern Ireland who will be appalled that government department could spend more on hospitality in a month than they earn in a year.
“They may also be interested to know how much of our money goes towards paying staff in the Office of the joint First Ministers. Could it be that McGuinness and Robinson are somewhat embarrassed by this? Whatever the reason for the two month delay in answering the question, OFMdFM have now confirmed that they have spent over £16,000,000 on salaries, National Insurance, employer’s pension contributions and other salary related costs in the year ending 30th September 2011 – yet they cannot find the staff to answer questions on time!”
Note
Mr Allister’s questions and the answers received were as follows:
To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail (i) the persons or bodies to whom their Department has provided hospitality; and (ii) the cost of providing this hospitality in each of the last 12 months.
The Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister provides hospitality within the Department and also to persons and bodies external to the Department when attending meetings, events or training provided by the Department.
The following table sets out the costs incurred by the Department in respect of hospitality during the twelve months ended 30 September 2011.
Month Cost (£)
October 2010 12,606
November 2010 15,919
December 2010 5,300
January 2011 3,467
February 2011 9,510
March 2011 10,237
April 2011 12,316
May 2011 12,646
June 2011 14,862
July 2011 6,035
August 2011 10,789
September 2011 16,412
Total 130,099
A breakdown is not held centrally on the financial accounting system of whom hospitality has been provided for.
