§ Mr. Alexanderasked the right hon. Member for Middlesbrough as representing the House of Commons Commission, what was the cost of running the House of Commons Refreshment Department in (a) 1978–79 and (b) 1979–80; how much of those figures was attributable to staff wages; how much of the staff wages figure was attributable to transport costs for them; and what proportion of the House of Commons deficit for those years expressed as a percentage was staff transport costs.
§ Mr. Charles IrvingI have been asked to reply. The details are as follows:
1978–79 1979–80 £ £ 1. Running Costs (overheads) 1,299,253 1,604,497 *2. Wages, Salaries etc. 972,981 1,160,494 *3. Staff transport costs 3,549 2,869 4. Deficit 646,292 791,991 5. Staff transport costs as percentage of deficit 0.55 per cent. 0.36 per cent. *(included in 1.) The accounts for 1979–80 are subject to audit and the computation of final adjustments.