Taxpayers subsidised Parliament’s bars and restaurants to the tune of £7m last year – £600,000 less than in 2011/12.

The Commons normally adds income from its gift shops to the official figure making the costs look smaller.

But without that income the operation ran a deficit of £4.9m in 2012/13, an FOI request revealed.

The House of Lords said that, excluding revenue from functions and retail sales, its eight catering outlets cost £2.3m.

That added up to a reduction of around £18,000 on the previous year, while the Commons hospitality bill was down to £5.5m.