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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's Single departmental plan: 2015 to 2020, published on 19 February 2016, what steps she is taking to champion the use of the Groceries Code Adjudicator; and if she will support an extension of the Adjudicator's remit.

The Government fully supports the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA). As Defra’s Single Departmental Plan makes clear, we will champion the GCA to ensure that the ten largest retailers covered by the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) continue to meet their legal obligations. We are also working closely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills who will shortly be commencing a review of the GCA. As part of that we are exploring how the review can take account of the recent calls for the GCA’s remit to be extended. Any decision on whether to extend the GCA’s remit would need to be based on sound evidence.