4 March 2010

(date)

Dear Mr McCloy

Reference: 10/19

Thank you for your request for information dated 29 January 2009. Below is a list of the information requested from the Northern Ireland Office, and the information we are able to provide:

Details of staff/members who attended courses are exempt from disclosure under section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act, as it constitutes personal data, the release of which would be unfair thus breaching the first principle of the Data Protection Act, 1998. However, we can confirm that three members of staff from Northern Ireland Office have separately attended a Common Purpose course since 2004.

Details of employees who attended courses are exempt from disclosure under section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act, as it constitutes personal data, the release of which would be unfair thus breaching the first principle of the Data Protection Act, 1998.

At 28 February 2010, a total of £9,834.75 has been paid to Common Purpose.

Copies of the invoices are attached at Annex A of this letter. The names of individuals and Common Purpose bank account details have been redacted from the copy invoices as they were deemed outside the scope of your request.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder. Most documents supplied by the Northern Ireland Office will have been produced by government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown Copyright on HMS Online at:

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/licenses/click-use-home.htm

Information you receive which is not subject to Crown Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any third party (non Crown Copyright) information.

If you believe this reply is not in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you may ask for an internal review by an Independent Complaints Panel within two calendar months of the date of this letter. If you request an internal review please do so in writing stating the reasons to the address above.

If following an internal review you were to remain dissatisfied you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner and ask him to investigate whether the NIO has complied with the terms of the FOIA. You can write to the Information Commissioner at:

The Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out.

Further details on the role of the Information Commissioner and the handling of appeals can be found at: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

If you wish to discuss this please contact the Freedom of Information Team using the contact details provided at the top of the first page. Please remember to quote your reference in any correspondence.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Manager

Northern Ireland Office

Freedom of Information Team

11 Millbank

London

SW1P 4PN

Telephone 020 7210 0840

Email: [NIO request email]

Freedom of Information Team