Written question asked by Lord Laird (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour) on Monday, 30 March 2009.

Northern Ireland Office: Taxis

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 24 February (WA 62) concerning the cost of taxis for the Northern Ireland Office in the first two weeks of the 2007–08 financial year, who calculated that the cost would be disproportionate; and how.

Answer: As staff expenses are reclaimed retrospectively it would only be possible to identify journeys relating to this particular two-week period by carrying out checks on all claims submitted both within this period and afterwards. Staff are advised that travel claims should be submitted at no more than three-monthly intervals. The Northern Ireland Office processed 4,814 travel and subsistence claims during the 2007-08 financial year so, assuming that all taxi journeys were reclaimed within three months, this would involve a manual investigation of over 1,000 individual claim forms. The calculation on disproportionate cost was made by the Northern Ireland Office's Financial Services Division based on the number of travel claims that would need to be investigated.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 2221; 709 c198-9WA
Session: 2008-09
Related items: Northern Ireland Office: Taxis
Friday, 24 April 2009
Written questions
House of Lords; Northern Ireland Office: Taxis
Tuesday, 24 February 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