FOI 68-22: Christmas decorations in MLA constituency offices
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: FOI 68-22
18 January 2023
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (“Assembly Commission”) has processed your request dated 19 December 2022 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”). In your request, you asked:
“Pursuant to the FOI Act 2000 and any other relevant statutory
1. Provisions please provide me information on the following:
If the Finance Department within the Northern Ireland Assembly would approve operating expenses for decorating Member's constituency offices with Christmas decorations;
This is not a request for information as the term is defined by the FOIA. However, you may wish to consult the Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) Determination (Northern Ireland) 2016 (as amended), which sets out the types of constituency office expenditure for which Members may be reimbursed.
2. A breakdown of office operating expenses Members have submitted to the Northern Ireland Assembly Finance Department to cover Christmas Decorations.”
The Assembly Commission has no record of any Member having submitted a request for reimbursement of expenditure on Christmas decorations.
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
