Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill [Lords]

Andrew George Excerpts

Tuesday 16th April 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sir James Paice (South East Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

I will make a brief contribution because, like the Minister, I am happy to support the Lords amendment. I just wanted to make the point that, in considering the fines structure and the levels at which they will need to be set, I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister and the Secretary of State will consider the magnitude of the businesses involved. A fine that to most people would seem substantial of perhaps a few thousand pounds, would be totally insignificant—a few minutes’ trading—to a major supermarket.

I do not pretend to have the answers. This is a subject on which I have wrestled in my own mind and discussed with the adjudicator, because it will be extremely difficult. That is one reason I was always a bit dubious about the need for fines—the reputational issue will be far more valuable. It is clear to me that if a fine is to be levied, it will have to be at a level that is likely to lead to the behavioural change of the relevant supermarket that all of us who support the Bill desire to see. That means it will be very significant. I am sure that if my hon. Friend the Minister comes forward with figures, there will be accusations that they are completely disproportionate to the issues. The proportion, however, is to do not just with the issue, but with the scale of the business and the behavioural change we want to see—clearly, that is not going to happen unless the business has been in serious breach of the code.

I am grateful for the opportunity to make the point to my hon. Friend, and to hon. Members in all parts of the House, that when the statutory instrument comes back to the House we will have to consider this wider issue. It is not simply a penalty for a small offence, but something we need to ensure is a genuine penalty for breach of the code and a deterrent. It will therefore have to be of a very large magnitude indeed.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Sir James Paice). I welcome the Lords amendment and do not oppose it. I am sure that that will be a great relief to my hon. Friend the Minister, whom I congratulate on all the work she has done on the Bill.

The key point addressed by the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire is that the order, when it is brought forward, is couched in a manner that has the impact we all want. Whether fines will be a set figure or a proportion of turnover was debated at some length in Committee. A proportion of turnover for Tesco as opposed to, say, Waitrose, is significant. Certainly, in other areas of competition law this appears to be the case. I urge my hon. Friend the Minister to look at a proportion of turnover as an alternative to setting an absolute amount in the order. I congratulate the Government on accepting the need to provide for fines in the Bill. The fact that significant changes have been made shows the benefit of debate and scrutiny in this place. Without question, the Bill improved over time.

I echo the words of the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray). I sat through the previous debate on the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill and made a point of order about how we had not had an opportunity to debate the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board. The groceries code adjudicator is being put in place to address some of the pressures on primary producers. It is a great pity, however, that we were not given the acres of time we have now—to debate this relatively minor issue—in order to debate an issue that will have a significant impact on the future of agriculture and agricultural workers in this country. The risk that this might become a race to the bottom or that the Gangmasters Licensing Authority might be the only body able effectively to regulate and protect workers in the agricultural sector is one that the House ought not to take. I hope that the House will reflect on the fact that the undemocratic House has introduced a measure without the democratic Chamber having an opportunity to debate it. We must ensure that such a thing never happens again. There has been no debate or vote in this House on an issue of great significance.

I shall return to the primary purpose of the amendment. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Minister. This is a welcome change and we look forward to the order being brought forward as quickly as possible, so that when the adjudicator begins her job, in the coming few weeks I hope, we will see this measure introduced effectively and a proactive adjudicator seeking vigorously to enforce the groceries code.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

Thank you for calling me to speak, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to throw you by standing so late. I had not intended to speak.

I welcome the amendment from the other place and the consideration given to the Bill and the great input from both Houses. It has undoubtedly benefited from it. I echo the comments of the hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George). I, too, truly wish that we had also availed ourselves of the opportunity to debate the Agricultural Wages Board, on which we have had no vote or debate in the Chamber. In effect, it has today been abolished by an unelected Chamber. While welcoming the amendment and the thorough scrutiny given to the Bill now before us, I think that the House should reflect on earlier business, when we effectively bypassed this House entirely. It is a sad day for our democracy.