§ 44. Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Lord President of the Council what additional losses have been sustained by the Strangers' Cafeteria since unaccompanied strangers have been excluded.
Dr. BennettI have been asked to reply.
From 1st November last, when unaccompanied strangers were excluded at all times, until 30th June, 1973, the additional loss sustained as a result has been estimated at £3,350.
§ Mr. JannerCan the hon. Gentleman assure the House that this additional loss will not be used as a reason or excuse for increasing the already horrific prices that obtain in the cafeterias of this House?
§ Mr. EnglishWill the Chairman of the Catering Sub-Committee tell us where strangers may now eat?
Dr. BennettSince they are not allowed to come into that part of the building unaccompanied they must either pick up some hospitable friend or, I am afraid, go outside.
§ 45. Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Lord President of the Council what is the present price paid by the Refreshment Department for 1 lb of apples, 1 lb of bananas, and 1 lb of oranges; and what is the current price now being charged in the Members' Tea Room for one apple, one banana and one orange.
Dr. BennettI have been asked to reply.
The present price paid for best quality apples is 15p per pound, one pound of best quality bananas costs 12p per pound and one pound of best quality oranges 8p. The current price charged in the Members' Tea Room for one apple is 5½p, for one banana 5½p, and for one orange 5½p.
§ Mr. CoxMay I suggest that the hon. Gentleman changes his greengrocer? Is he aware that, even allowing for overheads, the prices charged in fruiterers and greengrocers throughout London. and, I am sure, throughout the country, bear little comparison to the prices he has quoted? Does he appreciate that many Members believe that there is gross overcharging in the Members' Tea Room? Is he further aware of the widespread criticism, existing on both sides of the House, of the price, quality and selection of food available to Members? Will 27 he agree to meet a group of back-bench Members fully to discuss these points?
§ Mr. KinnockLet's have a General Election.
Dr. BennettThat is a lot to answer at once. We can look after the selection of dishes. We are always ready to accept advice, which is never slow in coming forward. We do some fairly hard bargaining with our purchases. There are certainly plenty of tradesmen who think we do. We shall certainly see whether we have been bargaining as hard with these commodities as we do, for instance, with meat and fish. The specific profit that we make on one of these fruits is between ½p and 1p. That is not very much.
§ 46. Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Lord President of the Council if he will give the price of a ham sandwich, a slice of bread and butter, a sausage roll and an egg sold in the Members' Tea Room last November and the price today.
Dr. BennettI have been asked to reply.
The price of a ham sandwich in November 1972 was 15p; it is now 16p.
§ Mr. KinnockThere is less ham.
§ Mr. KinnockIt is the same bread.
Dr. BennettIn 1972 a sausage roll cost 5p; it is now 5½p. The price of an egg in November 1972 was 6p; it is now 6½p.
§ Mrs. ShortI am obliged to the hon. Member for confirming what every hon. Member who uses the Tea Room knows 28 from personal experience—unlike the hon. Gentleman of course. Do not these prices show that, compared with the price of the basic materials from which ham sandwiches are made, there is either gross profiteering or gross incompetence, or both, in the management of the Members' Tea Room? Is it not time that the hon. Gentleman had more regard to the proposals put forward by hon. and right hon. Members and attempted to see that better food, of a better variety, was served and that we occasionally get fruits that are in season—which we never do now? Will he do something about it?
Dr. BennettWe do a lot about it. I do not think that the prices in the Tea Room have risen faster than the price of the materials or faster than increases in wages.
§ Miss FookesCan my hon. Friend tell me why an orange in the Members' Dining Room costs 10p?
§ Mr. LiptonWhen was the hon. Member last in the Members' Tea Room? I have not seen him there for years.
Dr. BennettIt must have been during one of the hon. Gentleman's infrequent absences, but I have gone in quite a lot because we hope to do some work on it in the near future.
§ Mr. Ronald BellCan my hon. Friend say whether there is a world shortage of ham sandwiches?
Dr. BennettWe have been hoping to shift some of our stockpile, but they have become a bit turned at the edges.