Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill — New Clause 2 — Preculde Referals to Adjudicator Relating to Suppliers With a Billion Pound or Greater Turnover — 26 Feb 2013 at 15:30

The majority of MPs voted against preventing cases of breaches of the Groceries Code involving suppliers with a turnover in excess of a billion pounds a year being referred to the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

MPs were considering the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill^[1][2]. The proposed new clause rejected in this vote was New Clause 2 titled Supplier turnover which stated:

• ‘Suppliers are not allowed to refer cases to the Adjudicator and cannot have cases referred on their behalf if their turnover exceeds £1bn per annum.

The Bill provided for the introduction of a Groceries Code Adjudicator to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (Groceries Code).

The Groceries Code applies to all retailers with a turnover of more than £1 billion in groceries in the United Kingdom. There are ten such retailers.

The Bill provides for suppliers to the retailers covered by the code to request arbitration from the Adjudicator, and the Adjudicator is able to carry out investigations into suspected breaches of the code. The possibility for the Adjudicator to be empowered to issue financial penalties is opened up by the Bill.

• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill (now an act)
• [2] Explanatory notes to the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill

Debate in Parliament | Source |