Submitted on Tuesday 8th February 2022
Rejected on Monday 14th February 2022
Current status: Rejected
Rejection code: no-action (see below for details)
Raise the prices in Parliamentary catering venues to market rates
Raise the prices of food and drink items in parliamentary catering venues in order to take the financial burden off the taxpayer. The prices should be raised to be commensurate with standard rates in other premises in Central London.
MPs must pay for their own food and alcoholic beverages in full. During an ongoing cost of living crisis it is morally indefensible for MPs to be effectively subsidised by those who are suffering the effects of the crisis, many of whom are grossly underpaid compared with MPs.
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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.
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.
18.218.119.28 Mon, 18 Nov 2024 05:53:40 +0000