To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years. (273888)

The following table shows the Northern Ireland Office's expenditure, excluding Agencies and Executive NDPBs, on hospitality in the last five years:

Due to the high volume of transactions within these expenditure areas it would only be possible to extract entertainment costs at disproportionate cost.

Hospitality events include receptions hosted at Hillsborough Castle, which acknowledge the contribution made by a wide range of people to life in Northern Ireland. These include representatives from the voluntary and business sectors and also the police and armed forces (including those returning from active service in Afghanistan), in recognition of their enormous contributions to Northern Ireland Society.