Written question asked by Lord Laird (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 February 2009.

Northern Ireland Office: Taxis

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 29 January (WA 76) regarding expenditure on taxis by the Northern Ireland Office in the first two weeks of the 2007-08 financial year, what was the "disproportionate cost" of providing the costs of those journeys included within incidental expenses; who calculated the cost; and on what basis.

Answer: Accurate expenditure on taxi journeys included within incidental expenses could only be recorded by means of a manual investigation of all travel and subsistence claims since that two-week period. Departmental records show that for the 2007-08 financial year, there were 4,814 travel and subsistence claims processed. It would therefore be difficult to measure the cost of a manual investigation with a high degree of accuracy, but it would certainly be higher that the disproportionate cost threshold of £750.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1401; 708 c62WA
Session: 2008-09
Related items: Northern Ireland Office: Taxis
Monday, 30 March 2009
Written questions
House of Lords; Northern Ireland Office: Taxis
Monday, 30 March 2009
Written questions
House of Lords; Northern Ireland Office: Taxis
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Costs Expenditure Taxis Written questions Northern Ireland Office
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk