Hilary Benn squashed by 720,479 packets of Jammie Dodgers

For months now the Tories and Labour have each been trying to out-do the other by revealing embarrassing examples of spending. Labour has generated the odd story about pot plants, biscuits and tellies by using written parliamentary questions to get departments to spill the beans. Eric Pickles’s Department for Local Government has never played ball and replies by flagging up how much Labour spent in government; thereby reminding the public of those Halcyon days. Yesterday’s response to one of Hilary Benn’s questions was a classic of the genre:

‘Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his Department’s (a) catering and(b) hospitality budget was in (i) 2012 and (ii) 2013.

Brandon Lewis: My Department has no separate budget for catering and hospitality in 2012 and 2013.

To assist the right hon. Member, I would note that this Government has dramatically cut spending compared to the last Labour Government and put in place far tighter rules and restrictions on spending:

The Department spent £553,230 on catering and hospitality in 2008-09, and £456,142 in 2009-10.