§ Mr. McKelveyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much subsidy was paid by the Property Services Agency to the Post Office to cover Civil Service use of the Post Office restaurant facilities in the last financial year; how many civil servants this covered; what was the average subsidy per head per day, both in total and in respect of the Post Office restaurant in Ayr; and why staff of the Inland Revenue may not use the Post Office restaurant facilities in Ayr.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergIN 1979–80, 1,987 civil servants used Post Office restaurants, and the average subsidy per head per day was £2.20. The cost of the subsidy in 1980–81 is expected to be about £1.2 million. Calculations are not made for individual restaurants and the subsidy for the restaurant at Ayr cannot readily be obtained.
The PSA is not permitting more civil servants to use Post Office canteens at present because of the restraints on public expenditure. The Inland Revenue staff at Ayr already have a mess room available to them.