We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.Private Members Bill opens door for supermarket ombudsman
A LABOUR MP has paved the way for the introduction of a supermarket ombudsman with the introduction of a new Private Members Bill in Parliament.
Ynys Mon MP, Albert Owen presented his Grocery Market Ombudsman Bill on Wednesday (December 16).
The Bill makes provision for the ‘appointment, functions and powers of a Grocery Market Ombudsman; and for connected purposes’.
It was not debated on Wednesday at its First Reading stage but it will be on the Order Paper for a Second Reading debate on Friday March 5.
Private Members Bills provide an opportunity for MPs and peers other than Ministers to introduce, although in reality they rarely become law.
Mr Owen, who was one of 20 MPs to win the right to present his Bill in a ballot, has made his intervention as Ministers continue to mull over whether to introduce an ombudsman, as recommended by the Competition Commission earlier this year.
A decision by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills had been expected before Christmas, although time is now running out for a conclusion this year.
Mr Owen said: “An ombudsman is urgently required as the recession has significantly increased pressure on suppliers, making them particularly vulnerable to anti-competitive practices, with implications for jobs, retail and product competition and, above all, consumer choice.”
The NFU said it was ‘delighted’ with the Bill, which it said ‘should result in the creation of the much-needed supermarkets ombudsman’.
Terry Jones, head of the NFU’s London office, said it was vital that the new Grocery Suppliers Code of Practice, which comes into effect at the start of February, has a ‘robust enforcement mechanism’.
“This is excellent news,” he said. “After nearly 10 years of investigations into the grocery market, Albert Owen’s Private Members Bill, sponsored by MPs from across the House, should bring this long-running saga to an end.
“His intervention provides Government with an opportunity to deliver the Competition Commission’s recommendations in full and we will provide every support to him in the drafting of his Bill.”
