Tory-led Government out of touch with needs of
farmers and consumers
Creagh and Murray
17 October 2011
Mary Creagh MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, in response to the publication of the Government’s response to the BIS Select Committee report on the proposed Groceries Code Adjudicator, said:
“After 18 months of delay, the Government has announced its Groceries Code Adjudicator will be neutered from the start. It will not investigate the claims of trade associations or whistleblowers and it will not penalise companies who breach the code despite the recommendations of two Parliamentary Select Committees.
“This Government is out of touch with farmers, food processors and consumers alike, when food prices have risen six per cent in one year. They should be standing up for shoppers who are feeling the squeeze and the food producers who are the engine for jobs and growth in this, the country’s largest manufacturing sector.”
Ian Murray MP, Labour’s Shadow Consumer Affairs Minister, added:
“The huge delays to this announcement are unacceptable. I am disappointed that the main recommendations of the BIS Committee are merely being considered, and not yet acted upon, by Ministers. Much of the evidence shows that the system would be more responsive to the needs of supplier and, ultimately, consumers if information from expert trade associations and even whistleblowers could be used to initiate investigations.”
