Utilities, maintenance and staffing at the Northern Ireland Assembly
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: FoI 09/19
12 April 2019
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I can confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission holds information relevant to your request of 11 March 2019. In your request you asked for the following information:
"1. Please can you tell me how much has been spent on the upkeep (this means maintenance costs, cost of utilities and staffing costs of building specific personnel like security guards, cleaners and groundskeepers) of the Stormont building in the calendar years:
a.2014
b.2015
c.2016
d.2017
e.2018
2. If possible can you break down the upkeep costs per year by the broad type of cost e.g. Utilities, maintenance, staffing etc."
Clarification of your request was sought on 26th March 2019 as follows:
"I would like to know what you mean by 'staffing'. Is this limited to costs borne for directly employed staff, or does it also encompass any costs borne for third party services charged to NI Assembly?"
Your response of 28th March 2019 provided the following clarification:
"By staffing I would also like any information that you can give me on costs borne for third party services charged to NI Assembly if possible"
Please find the information you have requested attached at Appendix A.
If you feel that the information we have provided does not meet your request fully, please contact this office as soon as possible. You have the right to request a formal review by the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission and if you wish to do so, please write to me at the above address.
If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF who will undertake an independent review.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Information Standards & Data Protection Officer
Appendix A
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Maintenance |
|
£533,473.68 |
£486,674.51 |
£570,447.01 |
£571,153.83 |
£499,780.14 |
|
Cleaning[1] |
Provided by 3rd party |
£309,229.78 |
£284,333.80 |
£253,763.36 |
£250,593.35 |
£211,146.48 |
|
Utilities |
Gas & Electricity |
£395,502.03 |
£338,645.09 |
£312,126.90 |
£224,701.50 |
£291,861.75 |
|
Security |
Provided by 3rd party (PSNI) |
£571,608.45 |
£318,031.81 |
£336,244.26 |
£337,062.92 |
£349,676.36 |
|
Security |
Gate security, provided by 3rd party and charged by the Department of Finance |
£129,410.83 |
£119,082.78 |
£90,271.95 |
£92,703.84 |
£87,341.43 |
|
Security[2] |
Ushering Staff - Secretariat |
£2,390,419.15 |
£2,550,400.48 |
£2,334,341.08 |
£2,589,813.68 |
£2,594,482.71 |
[1] The service provider is contracted to provide a comprehensive cleaning service within Parliament Buildings and its immediate environment to ensure that the accommodation is maintained at an appropriate standard. The contract includes the cleaning of Parliament Buildings and its forecourt, waste collection within the building, the provision of all disposables and cleaning materials as well as the provision and maintenance of the cleaning equipment required for the delivery of the cleaning services.
[2] Security includes Ushering Services. Staff provide services other than security and a number of staff included in the above total are temporarily redeployed at present.
