HC Deb 16 June 2004 vol 422 cc967-8W
Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Police Service of Northern Ireland officers work for the(a) Oversight Commissioner and (b) Police Ombudsman; and if he will make a statement. [173588]

Mr. Pearson

There are no Police Service of Northern Ireland officers working in either the Oversight Commissioner's Office or the Police Ombudsman's Office.

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the(a) salary and (b) expenses allowance is of (a) the Policing Oversight Commissioner and (b) each member of the Oversight Commissioner's team. [173589]

Mr. Pearson

I have been advised by the Office of the Oversight Commissioner of the following salary and expense details for the Oversight Commissioner and his team of five evaluators(a) The Commissioner's salary from May 2000-March 2003 was £203,290. The evaluators' salaries from May 2000-March 2003 were £350,602. (b) The Commissioner's expenses from May 2000-March 2003 were £101,043. The evaluators' expenses from May 2000-March 2003 were £330,571.

The Oversight Commissioner and his team of evaluators are based in North America. They travel to Northern Ireland three times per year to conduct evaluations of the implementation of the Patten Recommendations. In addition, occasional short review meetings are held by the Oversight Commissioner and the evaluators in North America.

The expense allowances for the Oversight Commissioner and his team of evaluators are primarily made up of accommodation and flight costs. These are paid directly to suppliers by the Office of the Oversight Commissioner and are subject to seasonal and contractual variations. The figures have been obtained from the audited annual accounts of the Office of the Oversight Commissioner.

Mrs. Iris Robinson

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been allocated for the(a) start-up costs and (b) running costs in the first two years of the Office of the Northern Ireland Policing Oversight Commissioner. [173590]

Mr. Pearson

The Office of the Oversight Commissioner was established in May 2000. The start up costs were £224,770.

Running costs in the first two years to 31 March 2002 were £947,027, broken down as follows: 2000–01: £272,131 (excluding start-up cost) 2001–02: £674,896.