Politicians will have to tighten their belts during government briefings, after the Council of Ministers stopped providing lunches.

The move was announced to all Tynwald members by Chief Minister Tony Brown, in a letter which has been leaked to Manx Radio.

He says from now on, there will be no food provided, but the briefings will be rescheduled to allow those attending to have lunch beforehand.

It's the first direct cut which has been put down to the ?90 million loss of revenue under the VAT agreement with the United Kingdom, which was announced last week.

Jason Roberts reports (text, below, from attached audio file):

The letter doesn't detail how many briefings the move will affect, but it's understood the catering is done by both the government canteen and private firms.

From now on, none of the presentations or briefings held by government departments or statutory boards will provide a free lunch.

In his letter, Mr Brown says the Council of Minister agreed the changes in the light of the government's financial position following the UK's bombshell tax announcement.

He says the current situation requires a change of mindset both politically and within the workforce, and this decision reflects the new reality.