Land Covenants: Supermarket Chains

Lord Hunt of Wirral Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

It is important to state that the reason for some of these restrictive covenants in business is that they are commercially negotiated and should be mutually agreed in the bounds of setting up a contract. This is quite a normal course of action, so I want to make sure that I am not stood here in any way demonising the large retailers entirely. However, particularly pertinent to the point of the homes target, the Government, through the Planning and Infrastructure Act, are looking at how we streamline all our planning for homes and critical infrastructure, and I suggest that land usage by the major retailers would come within that review as well.

[Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)]

Following on from the question of the noble Lord, Lord Watts, does the Minister share my concern that, over recent months, there is increasing evidence that delays from the Competition and Markets Authority are having a serious effect on a number of key areas? The noble Lord, Lord Fox, mentioned the digital markets regulation side, but there are also outstanding decisions on veterinary services, cloud computing and legal services. The Minister may be aware that the authority is now looking at what it calls the four Ps project—pace, predictability, proportionality and process. Is he happy with its progress?

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

In preparation for this Question, I spent a bit more time than I should have done learning about the CMA’s role. I agree that, as we look to create a regulatory framework that is both agile and appropriate, it is only right that we ask the same questions of the CMA. There is a strong strategic steer from this Government about making sure that we have the right regulation and application for growth and pace. On price, product, place and promotion, I suggest that we have to reverse that and apply it to the CMA, so I will be asking that question and will come back to the noble Lord on that.