FOI 50-22: How much money has been spent by the Northern Ireland Assembly since 1st March 2022 to subsidise catering services
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: FOI 50-22
20 October 2022
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”)
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 22 September 2022 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In your request, you asked:
“How much money has been spent by the Northern Ireland Assembly since 1st March 2022 to subsidise catering services operating costs?
Please provide a breakdown by each venue / service.”
The Assembly Commission requires that catering services are provided during business hours and for events / functions. Where the cost of providing catering services exceeds the revenue generated through food and drink sales, the Assembly Commission incurs the operating cost as per the contractual arrangements.
From 1 March 2022 to 30 September 2022, the catering operating cost in Parliament Buildings was £172,085.06.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown per each individual catering outlet due to the nature of the contract.
You have the right to request a formal review by the 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 may appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF which will undertake an independent review.
The Assembly Commission may publish details of your FOI request and its official response within the organisational disclosure log. The request will be completely anonymised and you will not be identified in any way. This is to meet the requirements as laid out by in the agreed publication scheme with the Information Commissioners’ Office.
Yours sincerely
INFORMATION STANDARDS