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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which consumers are able to access adequate information on the country of origin of flowers and plants they purchase in supermarkets.

No specific assessment has been made. Aside from certain products (e.g. food), there is no mandatory requirement to label goods with an indication of their country of origin for the majority of consumer products.

The government encourages traders to include helpful labelling on a voluntary basis, particularly where this may be in the best interests of the consumer or represents a unique selling point for the business, so long as the additional information is true and not misleading as required by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).

If consumers believe that the trader is not being truthful, they should report the matter in the first instance to the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 (www.citizensadvice.org.uk/).