§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Office of Fair Trading's recent re-examination of the supermarkets' code, with specific reference to milk pricing.[156442]
§ Alun MichaelThe report of the review by the Office of Fair Trading of the operation of the Supermarket Code of Practice was published on 20 February 2004. It made no reference to milk pricing which falls outside the scope of the Code.
We welcome the publication of the report and the OFTs decision to undertake a focused compliance audit of the supermarkets' dealings with suppliers. We hope that this will provide a firm evidence base for future action.