Committee announces inquiry into the Government’s draft Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill
24 May 2011
Following publication of the Government’s draft Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill, the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has announced its intention to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny on the Bill. A series of oral evidence sessions will be held, further details of which will be announced in due course.
The draft Bill and its accompanying documentation can be found at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/business-law/competition-matters/market-studies/cc-market-investigation-on-the-uk-supply-of-groceries
Topics that the Committee will consider include:
- The need for the Groceries Code Adjudicator
- Compliance with the Groceries Code to date
- The specific provisions of the Bill
- The functions and powers appropriate for any Code Adjudicator
- The appropriate location for the Adjudicator
- Enforcement powers, penalties, appeals, and funding
- Coverage of indirect suppliers
- Powers to investigate anonymous reports
The Committee will be taking account of the views already submitted to the consultation process undertaken by the Government in 2010. However, further submissions dealing with additional points or points arising from the specific drafting of the Bill or from those who did not engage in the consultation process will be welcome. These should be sent to the Committee at the following e-mail address biscom@parliament.uk, preferably by close of business on Wednesday 15 June (although submissions will be accepted up to a week later than that (Wednesday 22 June) if advance notice is given of intended later submission). The short timetable is designed to permit reporting on the draft Bill as soon as possible.
Guide for Witnesses
A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found below:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/witness/
Parties submitting evidence are requested to follow these guidelines. Email submissions are strongly preferred. If you wish your evidence to remain confidential, please contact the Committee staff.