I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.Ombudsman plan 'a victory for consumers'
NFU president Peter Kendall described the Government announcement on the supermarket ombudsman as ‘a victory for common sense and the consumer’.
He congratulated ministers at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, who had the final say, and at Defra, who have been pushing hard behind the scenes for this outcome.
Mr Kendall said the decision was the result of hard work and lobbying by the NFU over the past ten years.
“We’ve worked incredibly hard to make this a reality,” said Mr Kendall. “Although the consultation period means that farmers and growers will still have to wait for the introduction of an Ombudsman, we can at last see light at the end of the tunnel. It is vital that when the new strengthened code comes into force we have a proactive and robust enforcement mechanism in place as soon as possible.
He said 2010 ‘must be the year we begin to eradicate unfair dealing and protect investment and innovation in British agriculture for the benefit of consumers’.
NFU Scotland president, Jim McLaren said he was ‘delighted’ that the UK Government had accepted the Competition Commission recommendation to establish an ombudsman. He said this had been a priority for NFUS for six years.
“It was always our firm belief that if the UK Government wished to protect the interests of consumers, the food industry and supermarket suppliers, they had to legislate to set up the ombudsman. Without an independent policeman, the strengthened supermarket code of practice that comes into force in February would be of very little value indeed,” he said.
He said he hoped the announcement would lead to a ‘more open and transparent approach’ from retailers, who he said had been ‘dragging their heels on this issue’.
Shadow Defra Secretary, Nick Herbert said the ‘belated announcement’ was a step forward.
But he said further consultation on the nature of the new body was ‘not the decisive action that consumers or the industry need’.
“Ministers have had since April 2008 to take forward the Competition Commission’s recommendation and now they still don’t know what shape the Ombudsman should take,” he said.
“Conservatives are clear - we would establish a supermarket Ombudsman to enforce the grocery supply code as a dedicated unit in the Office of Fair Trading to ensure a fair deal for producers and safeguard the consumer interest.”
Liberal Democrat shadow Defra secretary, Tim Farron described the Government response as ‘totally inadequate’. He said there were ‘serious doubts over whether these belated proposals will properly regulate the industry’.
“A code of practice that is not legally binding means that much will depend on how much power the ombudsman gets,” he said.
Share
