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5 Jan 2010 : Column 6W—continued
European Parliament
Mr. Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for South-West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission to what region the Electoral Commission plans to allocate the UK's additional European Parliament seat following the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon. [308304]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not yet recommended which of the 12 UK electoral regions should receive the additional European Parliament seat, and can only do so following receipt of a statutory direction from the Secretary of State for Justice.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Art Works
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on art works in the last 12 months. [306446]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arm's length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, has had no expenditure on art works in the last 12 months.
Departmental Billing
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement. [307955]
Paul Goggins: The following table shows what proportion of invoices submitted to the Northern Ireland Office, including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, have been paid within 10 days from October 2008 to November 2009.
| Month | Total number of invoices subject to prompt payment | Total number of invoices achieving prompt payment | Percentage processed within 10 working days |
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) away days and (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each. [307512]
Paul Goggins: The following table provides a summary of the number of development days that took place in venues not connected with Northern Ireland Office (NIO) buildings from 1 April 2008. It is not possible (taking disproportionate costs threshold into account) to provide a breakdown of the number and cost of development days held in external venues prior to April 2008. The NIO's policy is however to ensure that development days have a clear business objective and are cost-effective. The Department places an emphasis on team development through volunteering, to meet our corporate social responsibility commitments.
| Division | Subject | Venue/location | Cost (£) |
It is not possible to provide a breakdown of conferences held in external venues attended by NIO staff in the past five years. The Department does not capture information at this level through financial coding, so to provide this would incur a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by his Department and its agencies on conferences they organised which were subsequently cancelled in each of the last three years; and what the title was of each such conference. [308833]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office has not spent any funds on conferences which were subsequently cancelled in any of the last three years.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 2006. [306424]
Mr. Woodward: Non-consolidated performance payments are made to staff in the senior civil service in line with Cabinet Office guidance and also to staff at grades D2 to A in line with HM Treasury guidance. These payments are made to reward performance throughout the previous reporting year. Under a separate scheme, non-consolidated special performance payments are awarded to staff to reward particularly meritorious contributions throughout the year.
The total amount of non-consolidated performance payments made to Northern Ireland Office staff since 2006 is as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) This figure does not include non-consolidated performance payments made by the Northern Ireland Prison Service to staff below senior civil service. | |
Departmental Training
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course. [305890]
Mr. Woodward: The following table provides a summary of the training courses attended by Northern Ireland Office (NIO) staff from 1 March 2008 to date. The NIO policy is to ensure that training courses attended by staff support delivery of business objectives and are cost effective.
| Course | Duration (days) | Number of staff | Cost( 1) (£) |
| (1) Costs include course fees, travel and accommodation/subsistence costs. | |||
The Community Builders Programme was initiated as a confidence building measure out of the Good Friday Agreement. The aim was to bring key community activists and local opinion formers together with PSNI and Criminal Justice personnel in an environment which promoted partnership working and networking. Two staff attended the four week programme in March 2008.
The three week Leaders for Tomorrow programme at Harvard is designed to provide high calibre leadership development for public and private sector staff from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The programme is arranged through NICS Centre for Applied Learning. Each year, 48 people from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland attend the three week programme, with the NIO providing two participants in January 2009.
The one week Leadership in a Changing World programme is designed for senior leaders from the public and private sector. The programme was arranged through NICS Centre for Applied Learning. One member of the NIO Senior Civil Service attended the programme in November 2008.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the (i) subject and (ii) location of each away day was. [306404]
Mr. Woodward:
Table A provides a summary of the development days for divisions and teams organised by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in the last 12 months
(from 1 December 2008). The Northern Ireland Office policy is to ensure that development days have a clear business benefit and are cost-effective. The Department places an emphasis on team development through volunteering, to meet corporate social responsibility commitments.
| Table A | |||
| Division | Subject | Venue/location | Cost (£) |
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