Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the independent Groceries Code Adjudicator to include the functions of the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is undertaking the fourth statutory review into the effectiveness of the GCA, and covers the period from 31 March 2022 – 1 April 2025. The review sought input on the GCA’s effectiveness in enforcing the Code, its role alongside the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator and potential unfair practices outside its current remit. The Government is currently analysing responses and other publicly available evidence covering the review period. The review report will be published as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to expand the remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to tackle unfair trading practices in supply chains.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is undertaking the fourth statutory review into the effectiveness of the GCA, and covers the period from 31 March 2022 - 1 April 2025. The review sought input on the GCA's effectiveness in enforcing the Code, its role alongside the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator and potential unfair practices outside its current remit. The Government is currently analysing responses and other publicly available evidence covering the review period. The review report will be published as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of fashion watchdog.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Responsible Business Conduct promotes the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct and provides a non-judicial grievance mechanism for complaints of non-observance by UK businesses. The government also launched a review, through the Trade Strategy, of the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focusing on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains, including those in the fashion industry.
While concerns have been raised about unfair practices, there are currently no plans to introduce a Fashion Watchdog. However, other measures are being considered as part of the responsible business conduct review. We will update the House once the review is complete.