PM not to take meal benefits to avoid controversy

Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Tuesday said that she would not take meal benefits from the government.

Talking to the commercial broadcaster MTV3 on Tuesday she also said that she would not take the benefit, even if the meal arrangement found to be legal as the issue raised controversary during the recent period.

Controversy raised over the issue following reports that the Prime Minister and her family took meal benefits beyond the mount stipulated for her.

The monthly benefits were thought to be about 300 euros but the reports said it was found 850 euros.

The Police on Friday started a preliminary investigation to check valid grounds to suspect officials of misconduct over the breakfast costs of the PM.

The Premier on Monday got meal benefits of 14,363 euros during her stay at her official residence and a request for clarification about tax liabilities was sent to the Tax office accordingly.

Meanwhile, the government in a press release said that assisting the Prime Minister in directing the Government, the Prime Minister’s Office is also in charge of the Prime Minister’s official residence and its maintenance and support services in accordance with the Government Act and the Government Rules of Procedure.

The payment of and remuneration to members of the Government and the grounds for their allowances are established in the Act on Ministers’ Pay and Allowances.

The services to be provided to the Prime Minister’s official residence were last specified by the Prime Minister’s Office in a practical guideline dating back to June 2019.

It clarified, among other things, the services related to residing in Kesäranta, including catering services. When the Prime Minister resides in the official residence, counting also short overnight stays, breakfast supplies and cold meals may be ordered there. The related reasonable costs will be covered from State funds. In addition to the Prime Minister, family members living in his or her household may also benefit from this service.

Similar catering services have previously been provided to Prime Ministers living in the official residence of Kesäranta, ever since the entry into force of the Act on Ministers’ Pay and Allowances (1 January 2007). It has become an established practice.

Marin has been using the catering services related to residing in the official residence since January 2020 and up to May 2021. The total cost of catering for this period is EUR 14,363.20, or an average of EUR 845 per month. This sum includes both breakfast supplies and the cold meals delivered to the residence. The use of the meal service has varied according to the periods that the Prime Minister and her family actually have spent in Kesäranta.

The average monthly cost of breakfast supplies has been EUR 270. The have consisted of foods normally consumed in the morning.

The average monthly cost of home-delivered cold meals has been EUR 575. The lowest monthly cost is EUR 235.20 (February 2020) and the highest one is EUR 1,341.40 (April 2020).

The meals have included cold starters and main dishes, salads and fresh snacks. This service has been provided by Compass Group, which also produces catering services to the House of the Estates for Government meetings and events.

The monthly cost of the meal benefit is largely explained by the service provider’s prices, which cover the raw materials, preparation and delivery of the meals. The price of the service is therefore not comparable to regular purchases of food and foodstuffs.

Last week, the Prime Minister’s Office submitted its reply to the media’s request for information on the purchase invoices concerned. The original request for information concerned a significant number of purchase invoice receipts from the financial management system of the Prime Minister’s Office. The Prime Minister’s Office responded to this information request in accordance with its scope. The amount released earlier, EUR 300, related to the period referred to in the earlier request. Since then, the average for all breakfast supplies has been calculated for the entire period of 1 January 2020 to 31 May 2021, which reduces the monthly average.

On 31 May 2021, the Prime Minister’s Office sent a request for an opinion to the Finnish Tax Administration on the taxability of services provided for the Prime Minister’s official residence. The internal guidelines of the Prime Minister’s office will be reviewed on the basis of the opinion of the tax authorities. The Prime Minister has requested that the purchases in question be suspended during the investigation of the matter.