Work subsidised canteens

Time for a concerted effort to get the bars closed in their place of work, the restaurants to have their subsidy removed and their expenses cut so that they have to contend with the same prices as we taxpayers who are currently subsidising their lavish lifestyles.

Catering services at the Houses of Parliament run at a loss so they are effectively subsidised by the taxpayer. In 2020/21, the cost was £9.1 million, mainly due to reduced sales because of Covid-19 lockdowns.

The "losses" over the last ten years has been £43 million. I posted about this upthread.

fullfact.org/online/parliament-food-subsidised/

In a rather odd reply to an FOI request about catering the response from UK Parliament said:

The contribution or cost ... is calculated by subtracting the food and operational costs from the catering sales.

Most businesses would call that a loss.

They also said:

It is also important to make clear that the customers who use the on-site catering venues include approximately 14,500 pass-holders (such as House staff, civil servants, contractors, Peers, members of the Press Gallery, MPs’ and Peers’ staff, etc.) as well as some of the 650 elected Members of Parliament.

That doesn't explain why these people are not charged commercial prices.

They also said:

Prices of food and drink are regularly benchmarked against appropriate external comparators. but does not say who or what the comparators are.

www.parliament.uk/site-information/foi/foi-and-eir/commons-foi-disclosures/catering-services-retail/catering-subsidy-2018/

Not from the prices I looked at. It’s still a huge discount and perk. And it looks like a nice menu.

I thought it was sold at a loss?

The tax payer is not subsidising alchohol and probably not food either. It is being charged at a non-profit rate. Westminster is not unique in doing this. However, when MP’s ask for a pay rise this ‘perk’ should be taken into account. Living like a Lord takes on a whole new meaning!

It puts my small sandwich, banana and coffee work lunch in its place. Paid for by me.

Why aren't they charging market prices? My local pub (not in London) charges £14.95 for beer battered fish with chips, peas and tartare sauce. £17.95 for an 8oz rump steak with the same sides as the members' menu. Similar dishes are half price.

Thanks Oakdryad for explaining. So the taxpayer is definitely subsidising alcohol while they work as they can never reclaim alcohol as expenses.

The waffle about taxpayers nit being a subsidy but it runs at a loss. Why isn't the canteen privatised then like they would other services?

How on earth can any of them have any understanding as to what people mean when they talk about the rising food prices, and the difficulties that involves. These people are all receiving in salary alone, nearly £84,000 pa plus approx. another twenty grand in all sorts of expenses. And they have this highly subsidised restaurant. So they are so very far away from the person on the average salary of £32,000 a year and having to pay ALL their own expenses, work related or anything else.

Let alone any understanding of those who receive a lot less even than that amount - Teaching Assistants (for example).

AGAA if I had a few alcoholic drinks I would have been sacked!

If I ate a 3 course lunch with a few alcoholic drinks I wouldn't have been fit to do my job well afterwards.

At work I could go to the greasy spoon for lunch or nip to a local shop for a sandwich.
I could certainly live off that menu but I forget how poorly they are paid!
A lovely lunch, a snooze afterwards in a comfortable seat and then watch a bit of porn to wake the MP up-a good day at work methinks.

Alcohol isnt necessary during a working day.

Also don’t forget there is a corkage charge on wines at restaurants so a bottle costs twice as much. Obviously no corkage charge at Westminster.

Esspee

25Avalon Do you think it is acceptable for MPs to drink at their place of work?

Not sure Esspee. I don’t think it acceptable to go down the pub on a Friday lunchtime and down several alcoholic drinks before returning to ‘work’. I can’t however see much harm with one glass of wine with your meal which is a choice you get at most restaurants. Everything in moderation. I can see you are thinking if the drinks are cheaper than anywhere else then won’t they be tempted to have more than one or even two.

25Avalon Do you think it is acceptable for MPs to drink at their place of work?

That’s what we charge for drinks at our football bar and still make a profit so they aren’t getting it for less than cost.

Devorgilla
Most of us do not experience harassment when we go out to eat

But they’re not “out to eat” they’re at work.

Yep, this'll be why they fall asleep ? in the afternoon. Maybe watching porn is necessary to keep them awake...

Food should be available as they work unsociable hours, no problem with that, but it shouldn’t run at a loss. I wonder if those restaurants are privatised?

I think the main reason, nowadays, why food and drink is provided 'in house' for MPs is security. Unfortunately, we live in a time when some people think they have a right to take action against others for a whole variety of reasons. MPs need to know they can enjoy a lunch break without being set upon. They often need to be close to the action if the division bell goes, they have a meeting with a constituent or they are meeting business people in the context of their work. In the H of C they can leave their meal, vote and return. I think it is easy to go into punitive measures as a member of the 'enraged' public when the drinking culture is exposed in newspapers as it has been recently. Most of us do not experience harassment when we go out to eat. The drinking culture is another issue which could be tackled with restrictive hours. MPs have a right to be able to discuss the matters of the political day in a private setting rather than the local pub where journalists, and the public, can overhear them.

I bet there's several MP's wining and dining their secretaries - cheap at these prices.

I've known about it for many years and find it shocking. The £9.1 million deficit should be spread over the MPs who eat there and they should be taxed on that benefit.

Some would be able to. It works like this:

MPs are entitled to food expenses (up to £25 per night) if they stay overnight outside of both their constituency and the London area. This can be used for food bought during the day, but alcohol cannot be claimed as part of these expenses. MPs cannot use their expenses to buy alcohol either in their office or while they’re travelling.

MPs are allowed to eat and drink in parliament’s various bars and restaurants (as are all parliamentary staff and visitors). While this food and drink is not directly subsidised, catering services across the House of Commons run at a loss, meaning that public money is effectively spent subsidising the overall catering operation.

In response to a Freedom of Information request in 2018, the House of Commons said MPs “make up a very small proportion of overall customers who use the catering services of the House of Commons”.

fullfact.org/online/mps-free-housing-alcohol/

fullfact.org/online/mps-expenses-claim-lunch-gym/

Our little village pub has much higher prices.

Mps claim expenses, do they claim this back?