evidence: Finance Minister Mervyn Storey today welcomed the independent report on the ‘Cost of Division’ in Northern Ireland society. [...] A Cost of Division report carried out by Deloitte in 2007 identified an upper ceiling of £1.5billion. Using updated methodology, UUEPC has benchmarked costs with comparable regions across the UK to identify the range of £400m to £830m per annum. [...] - The report identifies an estimated range of additional annual public service costs relative to other comparable regions in the UK. It then uses these costs to provide a basis on which to estimate the potential cost of division in Northern Ireland. The conclusion identifies a cost range of approximately £400 million to £800 million per annum, which at least in part is caused by the need to provide services in a divided society.