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Tory plan to 'curb' supermarkets Tory plan to 'curb' supermarkets
(about 10 hours later)
The Tories say they plan to introduce a new supermarket ombudsman to support the interests of farmers against abuses of power by large food retailers. The Conservatives have pledged to introduce an ombudsman to help settle rows between farmers and supermarkets.
The ombudsman would settle disputes between retailers and suppliers. Frontbencher Nick Herbert accused the government of "dithering" on the issue of an ombudsman - which was recommended by the Competition Commission.
The Tories will announce the idea at the Oxford Farming Conference, as they call for a "new age of agriculture". He said a Tory government would create one to "curb abuses of power which undermine our farmers".
Labour is due to launch its own food strategy, with ideas such as "meat free" Mondays, more allotments and a bid to cut waste and reduce emissions. The government said it was looking at how best to enforce a new code of practice to govern the relationship.
'Unsustainable' Both the Conservatives and the government have been outlining their plans for British agriculture at the Oxford Farming Conference.
In a speech to the conference, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn will point out that methane produced by ruminant livestock accounts for 4% of the UK's total carbon emissions. 'Let down'
He will urge farmers and food producers to do more to reduce their carbon footprint while urging consumers to be more aware of how food is produced and its environmental impact. Shadow environment secretary Nick Herbert called for a "new age of agriculture" where farming was important in responding to a rising population and climate change.
In its updated food strategy, the government acknowledges calls by some campaigners for people to eat less red meat to protect the environment but says the evidence needed to back this up and to provide appropriate advice to consumers is "currently unclear". He accused the government of "letting down British farmers" and criticised it for having failed to set up an ombudsman to govern disputes between retailers and suppliers.
Mr Benn will also pledge to do more to combat obesity, suggesting smaller portions of high-fat food. While the government dithers the Conservatives are clear: we will introduce an ombudsman to curb abuses of power Nick HerbertShadow environment secretary class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8440863.stm">Plans to boost UK food unveiled
He also wants to make it easier for people to lease land to grow their own vegetables as way of reducing the long waiting list for city-centre allotments. He said a voluntary code of practice governing the relationship was not "worth the paper it is written on" unless it was properly enforced.
It is not enough to talk loosely about a fair market or the need for better labelling Shadow environment spokesman Nick Herbert "It is not enough to talk loosely about a fair market or the need for better labelling," he said.
Addressing the same event, shadow environment spokesman Nick Herbert will say the voluntary code of practice governing the relationship between supermarkets and food suppliers is not "worth the paper it is written on" unless properly enforced.
"It is not enough to talk loosely about a fair market or the need for better labelling," he will say.
"We need action, with a supermarket ombudsman and legislation to enforce honest labelling if the retailers won't act.""We need action, with a supermarket ombudsman and legislation to enforce honest labelling if the retailers won't act."
Following a long-running inquiry, the competition authorities concluded in 2007 that the supermarket industry was operating in the public interest and leading retailers such as Tesco were not overly dominant. He told the BBC an ombudsman could put a stop to practices like "retrospective discounting", where supermarkets go back to farmers and say they want to drive down prices which have already been agreed.
Not dominant
Following a long-running inquiry, the Competition Commission concluded in April 2008 that the supermarket industry was operating in the public interest and leading retailers such as Tesco were not overly dominant.
But they called for an ombudsman to resolve disputes and ensure retailers did not exploit relationships with suppliers to push through unfair or retrospective contractual agreements.But they called for an ombudsman to resolve disputes and ensure retailers did not exploit relationships with suppliers to push through unfair or retrospective contractual agreements.
"Failure to do so could result in reduced investment by suppliers, lower product quality and less product choice, with potentially higher prices in the long run," Mr Herbert will add. class="lp" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm">HAVE YOUR SAYLet's go back to rationing - people were less glib about wasting food when they didn't have any!Margaret Woodward, London class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=7390">Send us your comments
Mr Herbert said supermarkets had got "too much power" which could mean smaller farms were damaged and did not invest, which could drive up prices in the long term.
He said: "While the government dithers the Conservatives are clear: we will introduce an ombudsman to curb abuses of power which undermine our farmers and act against the long-term interest of consumers."
For the government, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told the BBC Radio's 4 Today programme: "We are looking at the Competition Commission's recommendations. It is a very important report that they have produced.
"We have already agreed there is going to be a new code of practice to govern these kind of relationships, which will come in next month, and we are considering how best we can enforce that."
'Harm customers'
National Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall said: "While we await further details of the Conservatives' proposal with interest, we would look forward to working with any government that sees the creation of a grocery market ombudsman as a priority in delivering the Competition Commission's recommendations in full."
But Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, said: "This will harm customers. The last thing they need is a new multi-million pound bureaucracy - unnecessarily piling on costs and pushing up shop prices."
He said few farmers dealt directly with retailers and multi-national food businesses who supplied supermarkets were "perfectly able to stand up for themselves".
"Where's the evidence to support claims that retailers are unfairly putting the squeeze on their suppliers?" he said - adding the "big four" supermarkets already signed up to a supplier code overseen by the Office of Fair Trading.
But Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron said the government had "colluded in the dominance of the supermarkets" by not introducing an independent regulator.
"Farmers will only get a fair deal if a new regulator is given the teeth to enforce a strict, legally binding code governing the relationship between supermarkets, suppliers, and pricing," he said.