The under-used House of Commons nursery has been turning away children whose parents work at Parliament but are not MPs, it emerged today.
The facility, opened by Speaker John Bercow 18 months ago, has room for 40 children, but new figures show only 15 attend on a regular basis.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that the 13 parents told they are not eligible to use the creche include those contracted to work as cleaners, on building repairs and in the IT department, as well as those who work in the Press Gallery.
The nursery was criticised when it opened in September 2010 because it cost £557,322 to fit out.
It costs £1,278.33 to send a child under two to the nursery for five days a week. But it still runs at a loss, and Tory MP Christopher Chope called it "a grotesque waste of public money."
The Speaker's wife Sally Bercow said: "It's a great facility but it's too expensive."
