House of Lords written question – answered at on 14 June 2010.
Lord Laird
UUP
To ask Her Majesty's Government which officials in the Northern Ireland Office earned more than £100,000 in the last financial year; what were their job titles; and whether they were paid bonuses.
Lord Shutt of Greetland
Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords) , Liberal Democrat Lords Chief Whip
Four staff in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and its agencies earned more than £100,000 in the financial year 2009-10. Their job titles are permanent Secretary, Director General (Political), Director General (Criminal Justice and Policing) and the Director of the Northern Ireland Prison Service. Two of these staff were paid a non-consolidated performance payment.
Yes3 people think so
No2 people think not
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The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
A Permanent Secretary is a top civil servant- there is a permanent secretary in each Office/Dept./Ministry Permanent Secretaries are always Knights, (I.E. "Sir" or "Dame"). BBC Sitcom "Yes Minster" portrays Sir Humprey Appelby as a Permanent Secretary, steretypically spouting lots of red tape and bureacracy.
