In a private email sent to students by Clare College MCR’s Treasurer, Edward Oughton, a range of price increases have been announced – attributed to inflation, the costs of paying the living wage, and the effects of the crisis in Eastern Ukraine and climate change. The email explains that “Food commodity prices have been increasing at an inflationary rate of around six per cent for Cambridge colleges,” such that the college can no longer afford to absorb the additional costs.

The rising prices which colleges have to pay for food were noted as one of the factors in this price hike: “Meat and fish have been the prime culprits responsible for this change, but wheat prices have been especially impacted on since the Crimea crisis broke out. Combined with more extreme weather events, this looks set to get worse over the coming year.”

According to the plans put to a vote by the MCR, formals, particularly guest tickets, look set to bear the brunt of the price increases, whilst buttery food prices will rise but will remain below inflation. Oughton explains in the email that “Inevitably food prices have to rise somewhere for us to then balance the books.” The MCR is now reportedly holding a snap referendum to decide how the increased cost should be distributed across the price of formal tickets for college members and guests.

Addressing the living wage campaign, Oughton adds that “we have a serious welfare issue that needs to be addressed. […] The consequent increases in labour costs will naturally impact on the cost our food.” In the email, which Oughton has stressed does not constitute an official statement and represents neither the views of the college nor those of the MCR, it is revealed that “a number of long-term employees” have been found to be receiving less than the living wage and have been employed on controversial zero-hour contracts. This appears to contradict Paul Warren, the Bursar at Clare, who, speaking to Varsity about the living wage campaign in January, claimed that “when bonuses and benefits at Clare are included we do not have a single permanent member of staff” earning less than the equivalent of the living wage, which is set at a rate of £7.65 an hour.

Cambridge Defend Education, the protest group behind some of the demonstrations in favour of the living wage, has supported Clare College’s moves to introduce the living wage. An activist for the group, speaking to Varsity, explained that they “welcome the decision by Clare College to implement the living wage, but note with concern that those responsible for exploiting labour refuse to accept responsibility, instead demanding that students foot the bill.”

A spokesperson for the Cambridge Universities Labour Club expressed a similar hostility to the burdening of students with the cost of funding the living wage, adding that “Workers deserve enough to live and love on; students must not be exploited as a way of colleges fulfilling their social obligations.”

King’s College, which announced at the height of the living wage demonstrations in February that they would begin to roll out the living wage to all employees, has been identified as a model for other colleges’ efforts. Cambridge Defend Education added that “There are other options” to passing the cost of paying the living wage on to students, “including slashing the high wages given to heads or ending free meals and wine to college officials.”

"We would ask that Clare College take King’s College, where the living wage will soon be paid with no additional cost to students, as a positive example.”

In contrast, reacting to the email, Mikey McGovern, an MPhil HPS student at Clare, said "I'm not sure how anyone could oppose paying a little bit more for what's one of the more privileged scenarios I can imagine for students our age.” He also emphasised the importance of the staff to the student experience, noting that “I'm not prepared to look someone in the eyes and say that my privilege of dining in hall on Fridays for under ten pounds is worth them getting paid less, that's petty.”

Paul Warren, the bursar at Clare, has explained that "No decision has been taken yet regarding the salaries for permanent staff and likewise no decision has been taken about formal hall and buttery prices. However the facts are that on average food prices [have] increased by 5.57 per cent year on year"

As a result, Warren argues that the proposed increase in the price of formal tickets of 3.5 per cent is minimal, and will ensure that Clare formals will remain amongst the cheapest in Cambridge. He also claims that the email's reference to the influence of the crisis in Ukraine and climate change on food prices was issued as a warning for the future; "this is certainly not affecting our current costs or the modest 3.5 per cent increase in buttery and formal hall prices that we are currently proposing," he adds.