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Mineral Waters

Answer

It is not possible to answer this question in the precise terms asked by the hon. Member as water was purchased by the former House of Commons Refreshment Department for sale in all its outlets, not just for consumption in its restaurants and cafeterias. In total, the Refreshment Department purchased bottled water in each of the last five years as follows:

Table (a): Bottled Water Purchases
	Number of bottles
(a) Refreshment Department outlets	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
330ml bottles	19,176	0	0	0	0
500ml bottles	151,996	159,936	158,712	171,648	164,760
750ml bottles	180	16,716	336	0	0
1 Litre bottles	70,941	53,854	47,435	55,608	71,664
Total (Litres)	153,402	146,359	127,043	141,432	154,044
Total cost (£)	¹58,832	¹55,895	47,820	53,188	53,100
¹ Including committee rooms.

The figures for 2002-03 and 2003-04 in table (a) include water issued by the Refreshment Department to the former Serjeant at Arms' Department for use in the committee rooms, as no record of the quantities transferred is available for these two years. Figures for the last three years exclude water supplied to the Serjeant at Arms' Department for use in the committee rooms, as this consumption is listed separately in table (b) as follows.It should also be noted that the figures in table (a) include water sold to meetings and conferences held on the first floor of Portcullis House, which was supplied by the Refreshment Department. No separate figure is available for this consumption.In addition to water supplied to the committee rooms by the Serjeant at Arms' Department, a number of House of Commons departments purchased bottled water for dispensers located in staff offices and communal areas. The number of bottles purchased for offices has been estimated on the basis of the annual expenditure cost, taking an average unit price to calculate the approximate number of bottles.

Table (b): Bottled Water Purchases
	Number of bottles
(b) Other areas	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Committee Rooms: 1 Litre bottles	¹—	¹—	32,432	23,557	33,502
Cost (£)	—	—	12,000	8,716	12,395
Offices: 18.5 Litre bottles (estimated)	n/a	430	620	507	581
Cost (£)	—	5,165	7,449	6,095	6,988
Total cost (£)	n/a	²5,165	15,806	14,811	19,383
¹ Included in table (a). ² Plus committee rooms.

The figures quoted in the table exclude any purchases of bottled water made by the House of Lords for consumption on the parliamentary estate.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

194555; 474 c90-2W

Session

2007-08

Subjects

House of Commons Drinking water

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk