Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) farmers and (b) food producers receive a fair price for their goods in the event of a merger of Asda and Sainsburys.

Supermarkets that come under the Groceries Supply Code of Practice are regulated by the Groceries Code Adjudicator. The Adjudicator’s role is to make sure that businesses who supply directly to large supermarkets are treated lawfully and fairly.

Many farmers and producers do not supply supermarkets directly, and earlier this year the Government announced a package of measures to help farmers by improving transparency and integrity in the supply chain. These measures included:

- A ‘collaboration fund’ of up to £10 million to help support farmers to come together and strengthen their position. This fund is currently being developed with industry and will be launched later this year.

- A commitment to consult on mandatory written contracts in the dairy sector and sheep carcase classification. The consultation on sheep carcase classification is currently open, and we intend to launch the consultation on mandatory written contracts shortly.