We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Learn more here.Close Me
Following the Queen's speech to Parliament of 9 May 2012
which announced that the Groceries Adjudicator Bill will be taken
forward in the 2012 – 2013 Parliamentary session,
the Bill was today published in the House of
Lords.
The proposal for an adjudicator has been slow to take off. The
Competition Commission initially proposed the creation of an
ombudsman to oversee the functioning of the Groceries Code of
Practice (GSCOP) in 2008 following the Competition Commission's
investigation of the grocery sector. The Government announced its
intention to create a monitoring and enforcement body for the GSCOP
in August 2010 and draft legislation was published in May 2011 (see
our earlier
law now) which proposed the creation of the Groceries Code
Adjudicator.
The Bill published today has been amended from the draft published
in May 2011 and importantly gives the Adjudicator greater
flexibility in the circumstances in which it can bring an
investigation. The draft retains the requirement that the
Adjudicator may investigate only where it has 'reasonable
grounds to suspect' a breach of GSCOP. The earlier draft Bill
allowed the Adjudicator to consider only information provided by a
supplier and/or information that was publicly available in
considering whether or not to carry out an investigation.
However, the current draft Bill does not include such a restriction
on the information that the Adjudicator may take into account and
will allow third parties, such as trade associations, to bring
complaints to the Adjudicator.
The next reading of the Bill will be on 22 May 2012. Should the
Bill be passed during the 2012-2013 Parliamentary Session, it is
anticipated that the earliest the Adjudicator will be appointed is
sometime in 2014.
Please click here for our briefing note on GSCOP which
provides practical guidance for companies in the sector.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron
McKenna's free online information service. To register for
Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance
only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now
articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to
give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates
to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication
and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent
developments.
The original publication date for this article was
11/05/2012.
To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.
Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.
The Deloitte Consumer Review series aims to provide an insightful and impartial view of selected consumer trends that we believe will have a significant impact on Consumer businesses.
Whether your entire retail business operates online, or the internet is part of a multi-channel strategy, you need to ensure that you are complying with the Distance Selling Regulations to keep customers happy.
A new Consumer Rights Bill, to be unveiled around May 2013, aims to streamline confusing and overlapping legislation and regulation, and provide stronger protection for consumers.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments was first introduced under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which was replaced by the Equality Act 2010 from 1 October 2010.
Some comments from our readers… “The articles are extremely timely and highly applicable” “I often find critical information not available elsewhere” “As in-house counsel, Mondaq’s service is of great value”
