Error : sObject type 'MetadataPackage' is not supported

A query such as "SELECT Name from MetadataPackage WHERE NamespacePrefix = 'foo';" fails with invalid type for MetadataPackage if Partners or customers don't have the required permissions enabled in the Org.

Detailed error
sObject type 'MetadataPackage' is not supported. If you are attempting to use a custom object, be sure to append the '__c' after the entity name. Please reference your WSDL or the describe call for the appropriate names. 

When to Use Tooling API
Use Tooling API when you need fine-grained access to an org’s metadata. Tooling API’s SOQL capabilities for many metadata types allow you to retrieve smaller pieces of metadata. Smaller retrieves improve performance, which makes Tooling API a better fit for developing interactive applications.

MetadaPackage
To know more about MetadataPackage, refer to this link.