| AdminHistory | The Catering and Entertainments Committee was formed in November 1947, and comprised of two members of the Education, Baths and Parks Committees. The function of the committee was to carry out the duties of the Council under the Civic Restaurants Act, 1947, and take on the responsibility for the provision, management and operation of Civic Restaurants and cafes. This had been the responsibility of the Air Raid After-Care Sub-Committee (later British Restaurants Sub-Committee), which reported to the Civil Defence Committee, and its predecessors (see BCC/1/CK/7). Further, it was to have charge of the entertainment and catering facilities in those Council premises and grounds where such facilities were laid on for the public. The committee immediately appointed a Catering Manager, who headed the Civic Restaurant Department and provided a monthly report and accounts to the main committee.
In May 1949, the committee became the Catering Committee, with responsibility for entertainments returned to the appropriate committee. The new committee continued to administer the catering to other Council premises and hold responsibility for the British Restaurants and their staff. The Catering Committee paid for the rights to cater in parks, which provided additional income; for example, by 1950, catering in public parks drew a profit of £273 for the department, and as such, the Restaurant Department paid the Parks Department £75 for rights to cater that year. The same was true for the Science Museum the following year. The Restaurant Department would also cater, under agreed terms, for a private company. In 1969, the committee took on responsibility for the School Meals Service. The committee sat until April 1986, after which it appears to have been disbanded. |