Petition · past parliament
Stop subsidising food and drink in the Houses of Parliament by the tax payer.
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
Stop using taxpayers money to subsidise food and drink in the Houses of Parliament.
The country and more importantly the public are facing a cost of living crisis and some are using food banks, why should taxpayers fund food and drink for MPs and Lords who are well paid and wealthy.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
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 exceeds the income received in sales due to the irregular hours and unpredictability of parliamentary business.
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 House of Commons publishes details of the cost of House of Commons catering services: https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/foi/transparency-publications/hoc-transparency-publications/catering-services/transparency-reporting-catering-services/
It is up to the House of Lords what payments to make to members of the House of Lords. Whether tax has to be paid on any payments will depend on the type of payment made.
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 House of Commons publishes details of the cost of House of Commons catering services: https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/foi/transparency-publications/hoc-transparency-publications/catering-services/transparency-reporting-catering-services/
It is up to the House of Lords what payments to make to members of the House of Lords. Whether tax has to be paid on any payments will depend on the type of payment made.
Timeline
| 8 Jul 2022 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 13 Jul 2022 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
13 Jul 2022
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.