Ombudsman Victory

UK - The UK government has accepted a Competition Commission recommendation to establish an ombudsman to police the grocery supply chain.
calendar icon 13 January 2010
clock icon 1 minute read

The agricultural community has been lobbying Westminster for an ombudsman since 2004, led by the National Farmers Union (NFU), who strongly believes that that its creation will deliver better transparency and fairness into the food sector and is in the best interests of producers, processors, retailers and consumers.

The new Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) will come into force in February 2010. It will be followed by a consultation on how best to enforce it, including who that body might be and the powers it could have.

Peter Kendall, President of the NFU said: "We’ve worked incredibly hard to make this a reality. Although the consultation period means that farmers and growers will still have to wait for the introduction of an Ombudsman, we can at last see light at the end of the tunnel. It is vital that when the new strengthened code comes into force we have a proactive and robust enforcement mechanism in place as soon as possible."

He concluded saying that 2010 must be the year we begin to eradicate unfair dealing and protect investment and innovation in British agriculture for the benefit of consumers.

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