State Property.

An interesting question was asked:

The eye-watering value of the official residences of
the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been
disclosed for the first time, even though their details will never
appear in an estate agent’s shop window.

It was
contained in a series of parliamentary answers released in response to
a question by Mike Penning, the Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead.

Aside
from the Downing Street properties, among the 10 most valuable assets
owned by the Cabinet Office are Admiralty Arch (£25,932,875), which was
built as a monument to Queen Victoria, and Admiralty House
(£9,971,052), the Grade II listed building where Nelson once lay in
state.

It’s OK, no, not even I am going to suggest that Downing Street be sold off. They’d only buy themselves something more expensive anyway. But a little further down the list there are some interesting things:

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, valued the Serpentine
Gallery at £3.9 million and the Inn The Park restaurant in St James’s
Park at £2.9 million.

Why’s the Government own a restaurant?   

8 responses

  1. Is that where el Gordo learnt to cook the books I wonder?

  2. It owns the (very good) restaurant as it owns the park it in, presumably.

  3. dsquared Avatar
    dsquared

    Because it’s in a Royal Park and it would quite likely be surprisingly difficult (and an unconscionable waste of parliamentary time) to pass the Acts needed to start selling off chunks of the Royal Parks.
    The government does not “own a restaurant” in any meaningful sense btw; it owns the bricks and mortar, but the Inn on the Park is IIRC part of the Forte group.

  4. Gruppo is the group, also owns Mash and the Atlantic.

  5. Mike in Appalachia Avatar
    Mike in Appalachia

    “Why’s” = “why does”? Since?
    Tim adds: You’re right. Why’ds? Why’d’s? Better to have why does perhaps?
    Slapped wrist for Timmy.

  6. David Butler Avatar
    David Butler

    Why does Mike Penning seem more concerned with the housing of the Prime Minister and Chancellor, whilst appearing to not be concerned with those housed in Hemel Hempstead? He may do better by asking questions about his constituency than political pont scoring. Oh, Mike’s not a Hemel resident

  7. David Butler Avatar
    David Butler

    why does this site censor resonable questions?

  8. David Butler Avatar
    David Butler

    Sorry – the question is now showing!

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