humptygrumpty Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Taxpayers are forking out more than £60,000 a WEEK so wealthy peers in the House of Lords can feast on lavish three-course meals. Restaurants, cafes and bars catering for the 760 Lords, bishops and baronesses receive £1.3million a year from the public purse, official figures revealed. But the subsidy actually costs the taxpayer over £1million MORE as Lords authorities offset profits raked in from events and gift shop sales. They deducted £1,033,118 from the total £2,361,437 subsidy in 2011/12. That breaks down to £63,823 for each of the 37 weeks the Lords were sitting. TaxPayers’ Alliance chief Matthew Sinclair said: “Creative accounting won’t change the fact that taxpayers are subsiding food and drink for Lords when many families are struggling even to put food on the table.†The shock figures means each of the House of Lords’ 760 peers benefits from an £84 discount on their food every week. The lavish cut is more than the weekly Jobseeker’s Allowance for the unemployed of just £71. And it comes on top of the £300-a-day “subsistence†given to peers for each day they attend the Lords to cover food and accommodation. Many peers are multi-millionaires. Conservative former leader of the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, is worth around £10million and ex Deputy PM Lord Heseltine is said to be worth £200million. A breakdown of the House of Lords catering subsidy was published in Parliamentary record Hansard after a question from Lord Campbell-Savours. It showed the Barry Room got £246,307 in 2011/12. The Peers’ Dining Room received £757,696, the River Restaurant £501,646 and the boozy Bishops’ Bar £43,971. The Home Room got £185,694, the Lords Bar £326, the Millbank House Cafe £73,857 and the peers’ guest room £2,843. “Central costs†set taxpayers back another £549,179. Catering is overseen by the 13 peers who are appointed to the House of Lords refreshment committee. It meets once a month and discussions on subsidies are normally held behind closed doors to keep them secret. With the subsidy, peers have dined on “terrine of foie gras with toasted brioche, Amaretto jelly and a tomato and thyme dressing†for just £7.50. Other delights on the menu have included “trompette mushroom risotto with truffles, champagne and double creamâ€, for a mere £8.50. A la carte menu The Barry room menu Last week in the Barry Room peers could enjoy “blackened goats’ cheese for just £6, served with beetroot textures and soy nuts, or quail served with pancetta popcorn, sweetcorn and red onionsâ€. As a main, “seared scallops with cured duck breast, pear puree, stuffed cabbage, duck crackers and a vanilla and duck sauce†cost £14.50. For £1 less, diners could have chosen “roulade of pigeon served with celeriac puree, mushroom consomme and baby vegetablesâ€. They could also have had the roast of the day for £9.50. And even the most expensive dish on the menu, the £28 Dover sole and langoustine ravioli, will have barely dented a peer’s £300-a-day expenses. In the Peers’ Dining Room, diners were able to make their selection from an a la carte list or from a set menu. Choosing from the a la carte menu, our lords could go for a lavish starter of “marinated king scallops with sea and baby fennel, blood orange, puffed pork rind and crisp shallots†for £7. Or they may have preferred the “smoked duck breast with fig and sultana puree, ras el hanout granola and preparations of raspberries†for £6.75. For their mains, a “lamb loin noisette and braised lamb rib with potato Anna and port jus†costs £15, while “king prawns fried in pork rind with crab dumplings, egg noodles, steamed vegetables and soy dressing†was available for £14. Simon Rimmer, co-host of Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and owner of two restaurants around Manchester, said the restaurants were selling the meals cheaper than he could make them at home. He added: “We’d all like to be in the situation where we could eat that kind of food for that kind of money. "You couldn’t buy that anywhere in Britain. It’s cheaper than you could make it yourself.†A House of Lords spokesman said: “The unique nature and working practices of the House of Lords makes an operating loss on catering facilities inevitable.†He added: “There has been a consistent reduction in the level of the House of Lords catering and retail subsidy since 2007/08. "By the end of 2012/13 it is anticipated that subsidy reduction on 2007/8 levels will be 43%.†The revelations come as critics of the Lords fear it is only going to get MORE expensive to run, as David Cameron lines up scores more peerages to stuff the benches with loyal Tories. The PM has already ennobled 125 at a rate of nearly 50 a year, compared with an average of 35 for Tony Blair and only 15 for Margaret Thatcher. No wonder this country is in the state its in............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owre-weel Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yip, just as you would expect from the House of Lords. Not only are most pretty wealthy, they like to use our taxes to subsidise their meals, despite already getting a daily allowance. Mind you that's likely why their so well off. As they have their noses in our troughs, locally we struggle to provide basic meals for da ald folk at Freefield. Noo what was it they said about government cuts? Oh yes, " we're all in this together"! It Maks me dat mad. humptygrumpty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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