"THE controversial private restaurant for MSPs at Holyrood came under fresh attack last night when it emerged that the more successful the venue is, the bigger the public subsidy it receives.
The members' restaurant and bar in the parliament building is already subsidised by about £80,000 a year. But the finance committee was told yesterday that the catering contract had been agreed in such a way that it penalises success - the bill for the taxpayer actually goes up as more MSPs use the restaurant.
This is because Holyrood subsidises the cost of each meal to such an extent that every time a dinner is served, it costs the parliament more money.
There is also the problem of staff costs. As more MSPs use the restaurant, more waiting and bar staff are needed and again, the parliament foots the bill.
It also emerged yesterday that MSPs who live more than one hour from Edinburgh are allowed to claim for dinner they take in the restaurant."
How many own goals can this team score? 1. They have a restaurant which excludes those who are not MSPs; 2. they subsidise its costs (why?); 3. they subsidise it in an open-ended way so that subsidy increases in line with usage (does the PFI deal for Inverness airport come to mind?); and 4. they allow certain MSPs to claim dinner costs as expenses. Do our MSPs not recognise the way this makes them appear to the general public? Bizarre!
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