By Sean O'hare PUBLISHED: 07:45 EST, 30 December 2012 | UPDATED: 09:45 EST, 30 December 2012 One of Mr Pickles' 50 cost-cutting tips to councils was 'stop providing free food and drink at meetings' Cost-cutting minister Eric Pickles' biscuit bill is up £10,000 on last year as his department spent £42,225 of taxpayers money in just seven months. It comes as Mr Pickles said he had banned ­refreshments from being served at departmental meetings unless they go on for more than four hours. The Communities and Local Government office's biscuit budget was uncovered by Labour minister Diane Abbot, who said: 'Nobody begrudges Eric the odd digestive but he needs to cut his biscuit bill.
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He promised to ban free food and drink at meetings shorter than four hours
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Labour's Diane Abbott reveals expenditure and says biscuit bill must be cut
Mr Pickles added that his department had cut spending on refreshments from £456,142 under @placeholder in 2009-10 to £32,053 in 2011-12.