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5 Jan 2010 : Column 10W—continued
Table B provides a summary of the development days for divisions and teams organised within Northern Ireland Office agencies in the last 12 months (from 1 December 2008).
| Table B | |||
| Division | Subject | Venue/location | Cost (£) |
Hotels
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hotel room nights were booked by officials in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each year since 2007; and how much (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies spent on the fees of third party agents in booking hotel accommodation in each of those years. [309063]
Paul Goggins: Staff in my Department book hotels through a central booking service using our appointed agents. The agent makes no charge for booking hotels which are on a central list of frequently used hotels. Such bookings make up 94 per cent. of all hotel bookings. There is a charge of £5.00 per booking for the remaining 6 per cent. of one off bookings for hotels not on the frequently used list.
Arrangements vary within the agencies which use either the core Northern Ireland Office contract or the Northern Ireland civil service central contract. The necessary information is held in a number of different formats across a number of locations. It is therefore not possible to answer this part of the question except at disproportionate cost.
Human Rights
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the government of the Irish Republic on human rights. [309073]
Mr. Woodward: I have had regular meetings with the Irish Foreign Minister during the past few months, at which we have discussed current issues, including the consultation on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which was launched on 30 November.
Prisons
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the capital expenditure on the prison estate in Northern Ireland will be in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011. [309172]
Paul Goggins: The planned expenditure on the prison estate in Northern Ireland in 2010-11 is £26 million.
While a similar level of expenditure is currently envisaged as part of the service's estate strategy in 2011-12, the available funding is not yet known.
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total capacity is of prisons in Northern Ireland. [309173]
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average daily cost was of detaining a person in prison in Northern Ireland in the last period for which figures are available. [309174]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Prison Service does not calculate the cost per prisoner but rather the average cost per prisoner place, which is published in its annual report and accounts.
In 2008-09, the average daily cost per prisoner place was £223.
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total prison population is in Northern Ireland. [309175]
Paul Goggins: At 22 December there were 1,390 prisoners in Northern Ireland. This compares to 1,426 on the same date in 2008.
Solicitor-General
Departmental Billing
Jenny Willott: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to the Law Officers' Departments have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if she will make a statement. [307971]
The Solicitor-General: The Law Officers' Departments are committed to improving their systems in order to meet the Government's target of paying all invoices within 10 days of receipt. At present, approximately 90 per cent. of all invoices submitted to the Law Officers' Departments are handled by the Crown Prosecution Service and of these around 80 per cent. are paid within 10 days.
Full details on the performance of all the Law Offices' Departments against the Government target since October 2008 are detailed in the following tables.
| Crown Prosecution Service | ||
| Month | Invoices paid within 10 days | As percentage of all invoices |
| Treasury Solicitor's Department, Attorney-General's Office and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate | ||
| Month | Invoices paid within 10 days | As percentage of all invoices |
| Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office | ||
| Month | Invoices paid within 10 days | As percentage of all invoices |
| Serious Fraud Office | ||
| Month | Invoices paid within 10 days | As percentage of all invoices |
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