DIVA diner Steve Barclay is boiling up – because there is no decent soup and pasta in his work canteen.
The Health Secretary has demanded the very best grub when his government department gets a kitchen revamp.
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He made the food requests when discussing the office makeover with posh designers Bon Collective.
Labour tonight vowed to put “patients before pesto”.
According to the minutes from the February meeting – obtained by The Sun – Mr Barclay said: “The Ground Floor should be smartened up to provide a welcoming and engaging entrance and canteen space for staff, with top-quality soup and pasta offerings alongside quality coffee.”
The Cabinet Minister also wanted a “coffee breakout zone for all staff”, a “media suite” and two boardrooms for hosting foreign officials.
He also prioritised the fifth floor as a “control centre” that has facilities to run “short ‘project sprints’ on a key deliverable, such as cancer diagnostic performance”.
Labour criticised Mr Barclay for spending time requesting better food rather than getting hospitals up to scratch.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Soupy Steve is pasta his sell by date, just like the crumbling hospitals he expects patients to use.
“He should be focused on cutting record-long NHS waiting lists. Labour will put patients before pesto.”
A Tory source hit back: “If Labour really want to cut waiting lists they should start in Wales, where under the Labour-run Welsh government patients are over 600 times more likely to wait over two years for treatment compared to England.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson tonight said: “Cutting waiting lists is one of the government’s top priorities – we have virtually eliminated 18-month waits and are taking immediate action to bring down long waits.
“This is not incompatible with improving facilities for staff at the Department and improving access to healthy meal options.”
