News

...and throws a tonne of it away every month

STORMONT spending on subsidised catering services for staff and MLAs has surged to almost a quarter of a million pounds.

The assembly put aside more than £245,000 last year for its restaurant, assembly members' dining room and members' bar - a jump of 15 per cent on 2013. It comes despite Executive departments making cuts to public services across the north as ministers warn of intolerable budget pressures.

Assembly members already receive a salary of at least £48,000 on top of expenses claims.

TUV leader and North Antrim MLA Jim Allister criticised the spending surge on catering subsidies.

"At a time when the public finances are under such significant pressure and the executive are taking out loans to fund redundancy packages, I don't believe that this can be justified," he said.

"Most people outside the Stormont bubble either pay full price for their lunch or find time to make sandwiches. Given the generous salary which MLAs receive I cannot see any reason why we cannot pay for food at the market rate."

During 2014 £245,444 was spent subsidising catering services at Parliament Buildings, according to a freedom of information request.

Despite the increase on the £213,140 spent in 2013, the subsidy last year remained below the £266,368 in 2012 and £302,498 in 2011.

Last year The Irish News revealed that Stormont spending on refreshments for committee meetings had increased for the second year in a row despite a pledge to cut back on the snacks.

Hungry MLAs have munched their way through more than £200,000 worth of refreshments at assembly committee meetings in the past seven years. Committee meetings are supplied with trays full of tasty treats, from tea and coffee to sandwiches and varieties of biscuits.

The assembly described the catering subsidy as being the amount it spends to offset the difference between the sales and the cost of providing the services.

A spokeswoman said: "The operating costs of providing catering services within Parliament Buildings have increased between 2013 and 2014 mainly due to a decrease in sales.

"Sales have been partly reduced due to the decant of staff during the roof repair and refurbishment project at Parliament Buildings.

"Under the contract terms, a portion of the net sales is returned to the Northern Ireland Assembly in order to offset the, often constant, operating costs.

"The contract is continuously under review to provide value for money and is part of an overall re-view of services in order to meet the current and future budgetary requirements. The assembly commission is currently considering measures to achieve a further reduction of £2m in its budget for 2015/16, including consideration of future catering services."

STORMONT is throwing away more than a tonne of unused food every month.

The assembly has dumped over 70 tonnes of uneaten food in the past four years, figures obtained by The Irish News reveal.

In some years it has produced more than three tonnes of food waste in a single month.

None of the unused food is given to charitable causes and instead all of it is sent for composting.

The figures come despite MLAs and staff availing of subsidised catering services at a cost of almost a quarter of a million pounds annually.

Meanwhile, householders in the north are continually urged through environmental campaigns to stop wasting food.

More than 71 tonnes of food waste have been recorded between 2011 and 2014 from Parliament Buildings and the Stormont estate.

However, the amount of unused food thrown out has fallen year-on-year from 24 tonnes in 2011 to 13 tonnes last year.

The assembly said food disposal is managed by a waste contractor which transports it to a Belfast facility for composting.

A spokeswoman said no food waste is given to charitable causes because "the majority of dishes prepared are not suitable for transfer to charity premises under current food safety law".

"The Northern Ireland Assembly endeavours to manage food waste appropriately and this is demonstrated by the amount falling over the recent years," she said.