Bill introduced for grocery ombudsman

Retail group the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has spoken out in support of an MP's bid for the creation of a grocery ombudsman.

The Grocery Market Ombudsman Bill - a private members' bill - was presented to Parliament this week by Labour MP for Yns Mon (Anglesey) Albert Owen. Designed to make provision for the appointment, powers and functions of a regulator, it will return for a second reading on 5 March next year, when MPs will debate its principles for the first time.

The bill represents the first stage in the legislative process, and follows calls in August from the Competition Commission to establish the position.

The commission failed to reach agreement with the UK's biggest supermarkets for the voluntary creation of the role. Now there are hopes that one will be imposed on the industry to arbitrate in disputes between retailers and suppliers, and to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), which the commission has recommended is strengthened and extended.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said that an ombudsman would bring benefits for shoppers.

"Local shops will benefit from the more competitive marketplace that can only be delivered by a grocery ombudsman with proactive powers to ensure fair dealing," he said.

However, other retail groups have claimed that a tougher code would be "unnecessary bureaucracy" that would end up costing consumers more in the shops, and that it would make an ombudsman "even less necessary".

Lowman countered that an ombudsman would not limit supermarkets' ability to drive keen bargains with their suppliers, but "would benefit consumers by promoting choice and innovation in the marketplace."

IMAGE Eric Risberg/AP/Press Association Images