Cost of mints in the Assembly chamber
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: FoI 57-20
01 December 2020
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I can confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission holds information relevant to your request of 23 March 2020. In your request you asked for the following information:
“I would like to request details of the cost of mints provided in the assembly chamber.
It was disclosed in previous years how mints have been provided in the assembly chamber (see link below):
For each year for the period from April 2014 to November 2020 so far, please disclose the following:
1. The quantity of mints provided in the assembly chamber, and the cost of this.
2. Please explain who these mints are provided for. If mints are no longer available, please disclose when they were removed from the assembly chamber.”
Please see the information 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
Appendix A
The quantity (number of rolls) and cost of providing mints is available in the table below:
| Month | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jan |
52 |
54 |
53 |
36 |
0 |
0 |
27 |
|
Feb |
84 |
92 |
79 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
43 |
|
Mar |
136 |
64 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
26 |
|
Apr |
45 |
57 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
May |
54 |
39 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Jun |
96 |
99 |
65 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Jul |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Aug |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sep |
49 |
73 |
68 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Oct |
80 |
54 |
68 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Nov |
73 |
75 |
62 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dec |
30 |
40 |
43 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total rolls |
714 |
647 |
459 |
57 |
0 |
3 |
96 |
|
Unit cost |
£ 0.55 |
£ 0.55 |
£ 0.55 |
£ 0.55 |
£ 0.55 |
£ 0.55 |
£ 0.55 |
|
Net Cost |
£ 392.70 |
£ 355.85 |
£ 252.45 |
£ 31.35 |
£ 0 |
£ 1.65 |
£ 52.80 |
The mints are provided in the Assembly Chamber for Assembly Members. They have not been provided in the Chamber since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, in order to help minimise the risk of spreading the infection.
