Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage ASDA and Sainsbury's to engage directly and meaningfully with trade unions following the announcement of the potential merger of those businesses.

Sainsbury’s and Asda are private companies and the Government has no role in their strategic decisions. When the proposed merger was announced, I spoke with USDAW, GMB and Unite unions to understand their positions. Along with my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State, I also spoke with the CEOs of Sainsbury’s and Asda and reiterated the importance of them engaging not only with the USDAW, GMB and Unite unions, but also with other unions with an interest such as the National Farmers Union.