To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which companies were contracted by his Department for the provision of temporary staff in each of the last five years; how many temporary staff were employed by his Department in each such year; and what the monetary value was of contracts with each such company in each such year. (325495)

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) did not contract any companies for the provision of temporary workers. Temporary workers employed by the NIO are drawn from contracts set up by the Department of Finance and Personnel (NI).

Prior to 1 February 2010, the recruitment of temporary staff was delegated to business areas in NIO and no information on numbers is available.

Since 1 February 2010, the recruitment of temporary workers for the Department is managed centrally. There are currently 26 such staff in post.