{"links":{"self":"https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/770398.json"},"data":{"type":"petition","id":770398,"attributes":{"action":"Close the MP’s subsidised bars","background":"MP’s are paid a standard wage of over £98,000 plus expenses which are not capped. \r\n\r\nMP’s should not be able to claim for or have subsidised meals, drinks and alcoholic drinks this should come from the salary which you are paid with in your generous salary.","additional_details":"The average uk salary is around £37,000, however the average person cannot claim for food, drinks or alcohol which is consumed during their working day. \r\n\r\nConsuming alcohol whilst at work should in such a responsible role should be banned immediately, if I am found to have consumed alcohol at work I would be sacked and I expect the same for those responsible for running the country. \r\n\r\nMP’s salary is nearly 3 times that of the uk average, they should not be able to claim lunch’s and meals also.","committee_note":null,"state":"rejected","signature_count":21,"created_at":"2026-05-20T19:45:55.296Z","updated_at":"2026-05-26T14:28:14.302Z","rejected_at":"2026-05-26T14:28:14.307Z","opened_at":null,"closed_at":null,"moderation_threshold_reached_at":"2026-05-20T21:01:00.000Z","response_threshold_reached_at":null,"government_response_at":null,"debate_threshold_reached_at":null,"debate_scheduled_on":null,"scheduled_debate_date":null,"debate_outcome_at":null,"creator_name":null,"rejection":{"code":"duplicate","details":"You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:\r\n\r\nBan the sale and consumption of alcohol in House of Commons venues\r\nhttps://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/768417\r\n\r\nCatering services for the House of Commons are provided by an in-house team who do not provide a subsidised service in the commercial sense of the word. Some venues make a profit, referred to as contribution because it contributes to reducing overall costs. In other venues, the cost of providing the service does exceed the income received in sales due to the irregular hours and unpredictability of parliamentary business. The contribution or cost of each venue is calculated by subtracting the food and operational costs from the catering sales. Rather than a subsidy, the House monitors the contribution or cost of each catering venue, which include cafeterias, dining rooms, restaurants and bars. Prices of food and drink are regularly benchmarked against appropriate external comparators.\r\n\r\nYou can read more about this here: https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/freedom-of-information/information-we-already-publish/house-of-commons-publication-scheme/catering-services/house-of-commons-cost-of-catering/\r\n\r\nWe can't accept petitions about catering in the House of Lords as that is the responsibility of the House of Lords."},"government_response":null,"debate":null,"departments":[],"topics":[]}}}