BANGKOK, THAILAND – Thailand’s Senate decided to have parliamentary catering organised centrally while senators pay the full cost themselves to ease pressure on public finances.
Senate approves self-funded lunches
During a meeting of the Senate whips chaired by Senate President Mongkol Surasajja, members discussed catering arrangements for the first ordinary parliamentary session of 2026.
The meeting concluded that the Secretariat would continue to organise lunch on sitting days, but the 200 senators would cover the costs from their own contributions.
According to Senate sources, the Secretariat was expected to provide lunch boxes during a transition phase until the new system was fully in place.
Each senator was to contribute 10,000 baht, creating a total pool of two million baht for the ongoing session up to 11 July, which included 23 sitting days.
Public catering budget far above new contribution
Under the 2026 budget law, 14.28 million baht was earmarked for the Senate Secretariat to provide meals and refreshments for senators and staff on sitting days throughout the year.
The allocated amount worked out to an average of around 950 baht per person per day, covering snacks and drinks in the morning and afternoon as well as lunch and dinner.
Converted to a per‑sitting figure, the senators’ one‑off contribution corresponded to about 435 baht per day, less than half of the state’s original per‑head estimate.
Officials in the Senate expected that this move would significantly reduce reliance on public funds for daily catering.
Room to reallocate up to 12 million baht
According to the budget calendar, the Senate had already held 15 sittings this year.
At the planned catering rates, about two million baht would have been spent on those meetings alone, opening the possibility to redirect roughly 12 million baht to other Senate needs, subject to a final decision by the Senate President.
Mongkol stressed that lawmakers had to adapt their spending in what he described as a period of serious economic strain.
“Spending must be strictly based on necessity, and legislators must be prepared to make sacrifices in what I consider a national crisis.”
said Mongkol Surasajja, Senate President.
Lower house adjusts after criticism over food costs
House Speaker Sophon Zarum said that public criticism of MPs’ lunch costs stemmed from a misunderstanding.
“The House of Representatives no longer pays a lump sum for all 500 MPs, but only for the actual number of people eating, currently an average of 250 to 300 per day.”
said Sophon Zarum, Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He added that members of the House could also purchase their own meals, and any unused funds would be returned to the Secretariat of the House of Representatives.
Sophon said the current transitional system for lunch in the lower house would be completely phased out within a week.
Wider savings plan: no free meals, fewer trips
The Senate’s move followed Mongkol’s remarks on 30 March, when he signalled support for ending free meals in line with changes already underway in the House of Representatives.
This was part of broader savings measures that also included suspending non‑essential overseas trips and cutting administrative expenses.
The shift was intended to send a signal of restraint at a time of economic pressure and heightened scrutiny of parliamentary privileges.
Officials expected that reduced travel, lower catering costs and tighter administration would together ease the burden on the state budget.