Out to luncheon.

The news that more people are using the Scottish Parliament's Members' bar and restaurant, meaning that the subsidy which the public would have paid to keep it open, will fall this year, is very welcome.

Given Holyrood's history as the former site of breweries going back hundreds of years, it begs the obvious question: how is it possible for MSPs not to be able to operate a restaurant and bar so that it makes money, or is the case that they really cannot organise the proverbial p@** up in a brewery?

But Mr Smith is a bit concerned that "the parliament said it could not put a figure on the continuing subsidy for the restaurant because it was part of the overall catering budget." This seems rather unlikely and is merely an excuse for avoiding a bit of negative publicity about the fact that Joe and Josephine Public is spending tens of thousands of pounds a year on subsidising the meal costs of MSPs who earn £50,000 plus a year, not to mention the fact that many of the people who work for them are their relatives, who now also ... get to eat in the Parliament's subsidised restaurant.