FOI 23-23: Salary bands and number of personnel at each grade

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

Our Ref: FOI 23-23

11 September 2023

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”)

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 14 August 2023 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In your request, you asked:

“I would like to make a request to review; -

1. The salary bands over the previous 10 years if possible or if not possible over the past 5 years including this year and any adjustments/bonuses made to bring them into line with inflation

2. The number of personnel at each grade for each of the years of salary bands returned split by whether they are in the role full time or only promoted for a set period of time.”

Due to financial retention and disposal policy, data is not retained for 10 years therefore we have responded with the data for the last 5 years.

The Assembly Commission Pay Scales and respective number of staff in post have been outlined in Appendix A.

It should be noted that adjustments to the salaries are accounted for by the difference in salary scale points as well as any increments made through time.

There have been no bonus payments made; however, there has been a single cost of living payment as agreed with union representatives.

To answer your request fully it is important to note the following points:

We have responded to your request giving you a snapshot of a point in time. In this case, the point in time is the date of the pay award; this is the best method of showing how many staff are in post, at which scale point and temporary placements of staff into those grades.

Responding precisely to your request, Appendix A provides the number of personnel in substantive posts, (staff whose grade is their normal position), as well as those temporarily promoted (TP) into a position which may be a higher grade than their normal position. It is important to note that a large number of staff work part-time hours and therefore the number of personnel does not equate to the number of Full Time Equivalents at each grade.

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

Appendix A: Northern Ireland Assembly Commission Pay Scales and Staff in Post