FOI 60-22: Cost of Assembly recalls
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: FoI 60-22
7 December 2022
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 28 October 2022. In your request you asked for the following information:
“I'm writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act. What was the monetary cost of holding each of the NI Assembly recalls during 2022?”
Operational and staff costs associated with Assembly sittings are part of the normal operation of the Assembly and therefore no additional costs were incurred in supporting the Assembly recalls during 2022. Information on the operational and staff costs incurred in support of Assembly business is not recorded in such a manner to be attributable to an individual Plenary sitting.
Under paragraph 19 of the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination (Northern Ireland) March 2016 as amended by the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) (Amendment) Determination (Northern Ireland) 2020, Members are entitled to recover recall expenses. Such expenses are those costs incurred by a Member which are wholly and necessarily attributable to attendance at the Assembly during any recall which takes place during a recess. No such costs were recovered.
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 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.
The Assembly Commission may publish details of your FOI request and our official response within the organisational disclosure log. The request will be completely anonymized 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.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
INFORMATION STANDARDS
