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| Welsh government meal subsidies 'stick in the throat' | Welsh government meal subsidies 'stick in the throat' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| It sounds like the kind of gourmet meal you would order in a top restaurant. | It sounds like the kind of gourmet meal you would order in a top restaurant. |
| But work at the Welsh government and grilled Welsh pork loin steak with leek and black pudding mash would set you back just £2.95. | But work at the Welsh government and grilled Welsh pork loin steak with leek and black pudding mash would set you back just £2.95. |
| Figures show a 61% rise in subsidised meals for ministers and staff in their canteens over the last three years to £422,800 in 2013/14. | Figures show a 61% rise in subsidised meals for ministers and staff in their canteens over the last three years to £422,800 in 2013/14. |
| A Welsh government spokesman said the subsidy had risen to cover food at 10 sites instead of five before 2012. | A Welsh government spokesman said the subsidy had risen to cover food at 10 sites instead of five before 2012. |
| Meals on offer at Cathays Park headquarters and other offices included steamed supreme of Wye salmon with gratin of leeks and crispy bacon wafer for £3.50, while breaded pork escalope - served with seasonal cabbage and buttery mashed potato - was priced at £2.95. | Meals on offer at Cathays Park headquarters and other offices included steamed supreme of Wye salmon with gratin of leeks and crispy bacon wafer for £3.50, while breaded pork escalope - served with seasonal cabbage and buttery mashed potato - was priced at £2.95. |
| The catering is supplied to 5,800 staff including offices in Caernarfon, Aberystwyth and Swansea. | The catering is supplied to 5,800 staff including offices in Caernarfon, Aberystwyth and Swansea. |
| Figures obtained by the Welsh Conservatives showed the subsidy cost taxpayers £1.37m in the past four years. | Figures obtained by the Welsh Conservatives showed the subsidy cost taxpayers £1.37m in the past four years. |
| Shadow finance minister Nick Ramsay AM said: "At a time when many hardworking people have had their pay frozen, a 61% hike in meal subsidies for Carwyn Jones, other Welsh Labour ministers and staff will stick in the throat." | Shadow finance minister Nick Ramsay AM said: "At a time when many hardworking people have had their pay frozen, a 61% hike in meal subsidies for Carwyn Jones, other Welsh Labour ministers and staff will stick in the throat." |
| 'Belts have been tightened' | 'Belts have been tightened' |
| Mr Ramsay said the assembly had made in-roads into reducing subsidies in its own canteen in Cardiff Bay. | Mr Ramsay said the assembly had made in-roads into reducing subsidies in its own canteen in Cardiff Bay. |
| He said meals for members there were more expensive and a spaghetti bolognese was around £4. | |
| Mr Ramsay added: "Labour ministers' assurances that the public subsidy for their meals will fall this year will be cold comfort to families who are working hard to make ends meet and have to pay for their own food." | Mr Ramsay added: "Labour ministers' assurances that the public subsidy for their meals will fall this year will be cold comfort to families who are working hard to make ends meet and have to pay for their own food." |
| He said there were questions why such an expensive contract was negotiated in the first place. | He said there were questions why such an expensive contract was negotiated in the first place. |
| A Welsh government spokesman said: "The increase in contract value reflects the extended scope of the contract which has risen from five sites to 10. | A Welsh government spokesman said: "The increase in contract value reflects the extended scope of the contract which has risen from five sites to 10. |
| "The cost of catering across our administrative estate has been reduced by 47% under the new contract arrangements which began in April this year." | "The cost of catering across our administrative estate has been reduced by 47% under the new contract arrangements which began in April this year." |
| Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "Many hard-pressed Welsh residents have cut their food bills as belts have been tightened, but that doesn't seem to have been the case for those at the top." | Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "Many hard-pressed Welsh residents have cut their food bills as belts have been tightened, but that doesn't seem to have been the case for those at the top." |
| A Welsh government source said: "This is staggering hypocrisy from a Welsh Tory AM whose colleagues and staff eat in a subsidised canteen alongside journalists, visitors, civil servants and other staff in the National Assembly for Wales - this is a subsidy they support by the way." |