Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many of his Department's ministers have been exempted from quarantine in a hotel after returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country to which they have travelled for the purposes of conducting official business.
Answered by Conor Burns
No Northern Ireland Office ministers have been exempted from quarantine in a hotel after returning to the UK from a covid-19 red list country to which they have travelled for the purposes of conducting official business.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much her Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
My Department spent £3,543.20 on new televisions in 2013 when the Northern Ireland Office moved from Millbank to new offices at 1 Horse Guards Road. This move will deliver a saving to the taxpayer in the region of £1m per year.
There has been no expenditure on the purchase of televisions in 2014 to date.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials employed by her Department, of each grade, have remained at that grade since 2010 but received a pay rise; and how much of a rise each such person at each such grade has received.
Answered by Theresa Villiers
37 Officials in my department have remained at the same grade since 2010, broken down by grade as follows:
SCS = 2, A = 4, B = 3, C = 7, D = 10, E = 8, F = 3.
Home Civil Servants in Bands A-F in my department follow MOJ terms and conditions, including pay. Accordingly NIO staff at these grades were subject to a 3 year pay freeze until August 2013 when a 1% pay rise was awarded in line with the Government’s directive on public sector pay.
Staff at grades A-F who were rated as outstanding in their annual performance report for 2013 received a 2% pay rise. Given the small numbers who received an outstanding marking, it would not be appropriate to provide any further breakdown as to do so could risk the identification of the individuals concerned.
Pay for SCS members of staff is regulated by the Senior Salaries Review Board. Neither of the two SCS in my department, who have been here since 2010, has had a pay rise.
This response does not cover Northern Ireland Civil Servants seconded to the NIO from NI departments as they remain on terms and conditions of their home department, including pay.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops were lost by her Department in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In the period requested, one mobile telephone was reported stolen in December 2013. No BlackBerry devices or laptops have been reported lost from 2013 to date.