FOI 1-24: Breakdown of money spent on catering at Parliament Buildings since the collapse of the Assembly

Our Ref: FOI 1-24

1 February 2024

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”)

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 11 January 2024 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In your request, you asked: “

“I would like to submit a Freedom of Information request relating to the amount of money spent on catering at Parliament Buildings since the collapse of the Assembly.

Could we get an itemised breakdown of the amount of money spent on catering at Stormont from February 4, 2022 to January 10, 2024”

The Assembly Commission requires that catering services for building users and visitors are provided during business hours and for events and functions outside of normal business hours. Where the cost of providing these catering services exceeds the revenue generated through food and drink sales, the Assembly Commission incurs the operating cost as per the contractual arrangements.

The Assembly Commission does not hold the data in the format requested, please note that only full month operating costs are available. An itemised breakdown of the operating costs per month have been outlined in Appendix A below.

Therefore, from February 2022 to December 2023 (inclusive), the catering operating cost in Parliament Buildings was £549,905.65. The January 2024 cost is not currently held.

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.