Furious MPs are in revolt over a decision to sell off the House of Commons silver – to save a ‘ paltry ’ £200 a week . Some of the silver-plated cutlery used in Commons dining rooms could be sold to tourists as souvenirs and replaced by stainless steel knives and forks made in Vietnam . A leaked report obtained by The Mail on Sunday reveals a plan to strip the new cutlery of the traditional Commons portcullis logo to deter visitors from stealing them . Faded : The silver cutlery used in the dining rooms at the House of Commons . A report accepted by the Commons Administration Committee says the move will save nearly £50,000 over the next five years – £10,000 a year or just under £200 a week . But Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg , who is leading a battle to get the decision overturned , said : ‘ Selling off Westminster ’ s family silver to save a paltry £10,000 a year is taking cheeseparing to ridiculous lengths . ‘ There is a fundamental triviality about trying to save this sort of money when we are told we need to find £3 billion to restore the Palace . ‘ Dignitaries who come here rightly expect to use silver-plated cutlery – not something one stop short of plastic forks and polystyrene cups. ’ Commons catering chiefs claim it costs too much to maintain silver cutlery and insist a new £17,000 stainless steel set – made in Vietnam or Taiwan – will not ‘ compromise on class or elegance ’ . In a report they told MPs : ‘ Our silver cutlery must be sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment annually and burnished weekly ( rubbed and cleaned ) to maintain its finish . This process is costly , labour intensive and it is becoming more difficult to maintain the cutlery to an acceptable standard. ’ The officials say it would cost £72,400 over five years to keep the silver cutlery , including : . Fighting cause : Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg is leading a battle to get the cutlery decision overturned . By contrast , a new stainless steel set will cost £17,000 to buy and £6,800 to replace items that go missing . When the £880 profit from selling off a few worn pieces of silver cutlery for scrap is accounted for , it produces a saving of about £47,000 . But that does not include the potential profit from selling some of the silver cutlery through Commons gifts shops , which officials are looking at . The report says ‘ the best ’ of the silver cutlery will be kept for ‘ MP dining clubs , a Member ’ s wedding breakfast etc ’ . MPs on the committee voted to keep the portcullis logo and have asked catering chiefs to look at buying cutlery made in the UK .
Leaked report reveals plan to strip the new cutlery of Commons logo . The change will save nearly £50,000 over the next five years . But Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg is leading battle to get decision overturned . A staggering £22,600 for ‘ fork restoration ’ – understood to include straightening them after MPs attack their food too aggressively . £8,500 for restoring spoons . £8,300 to sharpen knives – presumably to make sure MPs can slice through large steaks . £21,200 for ‘ in-house burnishing including chemicals ’ – cleaning and polishing in layman ’ s terms . £11,800 for ‘ par stock levelling ’ – thought to be a polite reference to replacing missing or stolen items .