§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Lord President of the Council what studies he has made to project the future profits or losses of the Refreshment Department; and what conclusions these studies have produced.
§ Mr. FootThe Catering Sub-Committee has been constantly seeking to improve the present extremely unsatisfactory financial position of the Refreshment Department. In this connection, it has had regular consultations with the Chief Secretary and myself. Since the Mikardo Report on House catering, a Financial Controller has been appointed, and the committee has had a series of studies carried out of the profitability of the various facilities provided, and of other financial aspects of House catering. The aim is to put to the House a considered plan which will set the finances of the Department on a satisfactory long-term basis.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Lord President of the Council what are the major factors in the increases in Refreshment Department losses since 1974.
§ Mr. FootThe principal factors which have lead to this deterioration are rises in wage costs, including those arising from the introduction of a double shift system; interest on the bank overdraft; and the increasing effect on a labour-intensive service of having to cater for unpredictable and widely fluctuating daily levels of demand.