A House of Commons’ Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee has recently been launched. The cross-party initiative, Fairness in the Food Supply Chain, aims to look at pressing issues impacting the sector.
The inquiry will examine the levels of support for domestic food production, access to affordable and healthy food, labour shortages in the supply chain, and food prices and household food insecurity
To guide its investigation, the committee has issued a call for updated or new evidence by Friday, 24 January 2025. Key topics for submission include:
- The effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator in enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
- Potential benefits and drawbacks of expanding the scope of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
- Proposed reforms to the code, including lowering the turnover threshold for covered retailers.
- Adequacy of reviews into contractual practices in agricultural sectors and the introduction of fair dealing powers under the Agriculture Act.
- Risks and benefits of a sector-specific approach to fair dealing powers.
- Opportunities for collaboration between the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator and the Groceries Code Adjudicator.