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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a garment trade adjudicator to prevent abusive purchasing practices in the garment industry.

While the adjudicator model has had some success in raising standards in the groceries sector, there are significant differences between those two industries which calls into question how effectively the model can be transferred.

In the response to the single enforcement body consultation published last year, the government reaffirmed its commitment to continue to engage with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of levels of non-compliance across the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.