To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the gratuities paid for food and drink by Members of the House of Lords on debit and credit card are directly paid to the service staff; and if so, how.

All Catering and Retail Services staff, with the exception of staff grade A and above, receive a share of gratuities and function service charges, including those paid on debit and credit cards. The formula for working out the share for each permanent member of staff is based on contracted hours. Gratuities are distributed three times a year through payroll after deductions for National Insurance and income tax. A proportion of gratuities and function service charges is paid to zero hour staff (none of whom has a contractual exclusivity clause) split on a pro-rata basis according to the number of hours they have worked.