Question
Asked by
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Northern Ireland Office spent on taxis from 1 September in each of the past five years. [HL5704]
The invoiced expenditure on taxi fares for the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, from 1 September for a 12-month period for each of the past five years is shown in the following table.
Year Amount 1 September 2004-31 August 2005 £24,163 1 September 2005-31 August 2006 £31,059 1 September 2006-31 August 2007 £23,254 1 September 2007-31 August 2008 £68,717 1 September 2008-31 August 2009 £74,767
Changes to transport arrangements in 2007-08 have generated overall savings even after allowing for the increase in taxi costs. These figures exclude taxi fares paid by employees and reimbursed as miscellaneous expenses. These costs can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The NIO keeps the cost of travel on official business under regular review. Departmental guidance requires all staff to use the most efficient means of transport taking account of travel costs, time and incidental expenses, for example, the cost of car parking.