Have your say on government e-petitions

Stop Public Money being used to supplement MPs Meals and Drinks

Submitted on Saturday 24th October 2020

Rejected on Friday 30th October 2020

Current status: Rejected

Rejection code: irrelevant (see below for details)

Petition Action

Stop Public Money being used to supplement MPs Meals and Drinks

Petition Details

The Government has recently voted against extending free school meals into the holidays for the poorest children in England. The Government should review this decision. The Government should stop the use of public money to provide MPs with free/subsidised meals.

Additional Information

I have started this campaign to support other public petitions (38 degrees, Change .org), these point out the hypocrisy of public money being used to subsidise & pay for food for MP's whilst they deny support to those most in need of it."

The Government refuses to use OUR money for one of the most basic responsibilities of a compassionate society.

Read more about what expenses MPs can claim for food here: https://fullfact.org/online/mps-free-housing-alcohol/

These funds must be redirected.


You can't sign this petition because it was rejected. But you can still comment on it here at Repetition.me!

This petition was rejected

The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:

The UK Government and Parliament aren't responsible for setting MPs' pay or expenses. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is responsible for deciding on MPs' expenses and pay. IPSA is independent of both Parliament and Government.

You can find out more about IPSA here: www.theipsa.org.uk/about-us/

MPs may claim for the cost of purchasing food and non-alcoholic drinks where they have stayed overnight outside the London Area and their constituency. This is limited to £25 for each night they have stayed, but the claims can be for purchases made during the day.

We have published the following petition, which you might like to sign:

Increase food and drink prices for MPs in House of Commons catering venues: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555565

The House of Commons Catering service does not provide a subsidised service in the commercial sense of the word. Some venues make a profit, while in other venues the cost of providing the service does exceed the income received in sales due to the irregular hours and unpredictability of parliamentary business. The House of Commons publishes details of the cost of House of Commons catering services: www.parliament.uk/site-information/foi/transparency-publications/hoc-transparency-publications/catering-services/transparency-reporting-catering-services/

Customers of the House of Commons Catering Services include some of the 650 MPs but also around 14,500 other pass-holders, many of whom are staff on lower wages that work irregular hours. In addition, members of the public and non pass holding visitors to Parliament also have access to these services. The irregular hours and the unpredictability of Parliamentary business contribute to increasing the net cost of providing a catering service. To offset this many of the restaurants, dining room facilities and their staff, are used to cater for private events at times when they are not required by the House. This is one of a number of measures used to reduce costs.

You may also wish to sign some of these petitions:

Fund free school meals over school holidays until April 2021: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555727

Provide the free school meal entitlement throughout the year: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/555723

End child food poverty – no child should be going hungry: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554276

Have your say on this petition!

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