§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the cost of governing Northern Ireland(a) under devolution excluding the cost of reserved matters and (b) under direct rule. [36707]
§ Dr. John Reid(a) The cost of governing Northern Ireland after devolution is a matter for the Assembly—however, the Department of Finance and Personnel provided the following NI Block totals.
(b) The table shows the cost of governing NI in the year before devolution began (1998–99), and the years in which devolution/suspension took place (1999–2000 and 2000–01).
£ million NI Block year NIO WW DEL AME 1998–99 975 4,687 3,534 16 1999–20001 11,026 4,914 3,631 37 2000–011 1,138 5,249 4,965 39 1 Devolution began in December 1999 and was suspended between February and May 2000, with the result that in: 1999–2000 £4,221K for NI Assembly was included in the NIO totals. 2000–01 £1,733K for NI Assembly was included in the NIO totals