Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill [Lords]

It pains me to have to point out to my hon. Friend that petrol is not a grocery and is not covere...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. Perhaps then we can move on to Procter & Gamble. Would it ...

Again, my hon. Friend is misrepresenting the role of the groceries code adjudicator. When a deal ...

So my hon. Friend does not think that Procter & Gamble is big enough to look after itself. He thi...

We are on the side of David, not Goliath. It seems eminently sensible that my hon. Friend’s new c...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We were told that that was exactly the purpose of the Bill in th...

Order. I am slightly concerned that the hon. Gentleman has been diverted from the path of virtue ...

rose—

Just before that, I call Mr Huw Irranca-Davies on a point of order.

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It might be of some help to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I am sure he is seeking to be helpful, but I thought I had m...

I am grateful, Mr Speaker, but people ought to be aware that the Bill leaves great scope for the ...

We have very limited time, because the House agreed to the programme motion, so perhaps we could ...

My hon. Friend is for ever an optimist, but I am afraid that, in my experience, logic is not usua...

My hon. Friend refers to Walkers snack foods. Potatoes are among the raw materials that that comp...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Bill would still allow Walkers to screw the potato supplie...

rose—

My hon. Friend does.

I will happily challenge my hon. Friend on that point. Those large companies have the ability to ...

We all know that that is the case, but my point is that if companies such as Heinz, Walkers, Nest...

rose—

I will let the hon. Gentleman explain why he wants to add to the bottom line of those multination...

The hon. Gentleman is, in truth, arguing for the abolition of all the competition authorities. Th...

Order. I am loth to interrupt the hon. Gentleman in mid-flow, but interventions seem to be becomi...

I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker.

The hon. Member for St Ives (Andrew George) misreads the ...

The adjudicator will clearly have finite amounts of time and resources. Surely it would be better...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; that is the purpose of the Bill. The big multinational compan...

rose—

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman is about to tell us.

We have all been listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman, but I want to make two important poin...

That is an extraordinary intervention. The hon. Gentleman is saying that he is not minded to supp...

I am considering whether to support new clause 3. Am I right in understanding that if, in seven y...

My hon. Friend is right. He knows as well as I do that if such a sunset clause is not introduced,...

I shall provide a brief background to amendment 3 and to the other amendments tabled in my name.<...

When Labour Members tried in Committee to strengthen the relationship between the adjudicator and...

I followed the dialogue that took place in Committee and read the reports of it. That has been on...

I listened carefully to what was said by my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Philip Davies). I...

That is the point of new clause 2. It would focus time, resources and attention on the suppliers ...

I will come to that specific point, but let me first deal with the more philosophical point raise...

I will ignore the nonsensical—and, to be frank, idiotic—point that this measure will be of benefi...

I do not know, because it has not been made public. That is a complete irrelevance, however. It i...

The right hon. Gentleman acquired extensive knowledge of the food sector in his time as a DEFRA M...

The honest answer is that, no, I did not come across such evidence, but it may well have been hap...

I entirely endorse my right hon. Friend’s comments. Following the logic of the arguments advanced...

My hon. Friend is entirely right.

I have been listening to my right hon. Friend’s speech very carefully, as it serves to balance th...

It is entirely for the Government to decide whether to accept new clause 2. It does not cause me ...

It is a great pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Sir James P...

Order. Mr George, I am sure that you are not listening to a message while you are in the Chamber....

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

We know the origins of the code came from the Competition Com...

It would be helpful if the hon. Gentleman made clear his belief, which is certainly my belief, th...

I agree 100% with the Minister. We hope that by having the adjudicator reporting annually to the ...

I shall not detain the House for long, but I want to make some general comments about some of the...

My amendment does not seek to restrict the remit only to very small suppliers but to suppliers wi...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention, as it allows me to clarify that that is my ...

Surely the new clause will send a crystal clear message to the adjudicator, when they take on the...

Again, there is a misunderstanding of what will happen. We are talking about very large companies...

I support the arguments that my hon. Friend is making. He knows that this is a dynamic and creati...

I recognise that. I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, who has worked on this matter since before...

We have had plenty of time to understand how supermarkets deal with their suppliers and it is pre...

I am happy to agree with my hon. Friend and I pay tribute to the work that he has done to bring t...

Does my hon. Friend agree that, regardless of whether there have been complaints, the existence o...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. We could make the same argument across government; if ...

I am pleased to speak in this debate and I welcome the speeches that have been made so far. I did...

The hon. Gentleman seemed to be criticising me for moving my new clause at great length. Does he ...

I am in no way being critical of speaking at great length. I can extemporise for the nation mysel...

The hon. Gentleman is making some excellent points, and I want to support them by gently remindin...

The hon. Gentleman has intrigued me. Let us say that a larger operator over the turnover steps fo...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a need to protect all within the food supply chain? I rep...

The hon. Lady is right. She speaks to the spirit and the letter of the amendments, to which I wil...

It is important that people understand what that advice is and what the data suggest. It has been...

rose—

Order. I am sure that we do not want to continue this debate and that the hon. Gentleman is despe...

Absolutely. I make the point to illustrate how important this amendment is in terms of food safet...

Order. Do not test my patience any more. We can both agree that you are desperate to speak to the...

I am happy that I have made the case extensively.

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I would love to give way to the right hon. Gentleman as long as he does not seek to draw me in to...

I do not know why on earth the hon. Gentleman thinks that I might want to draw him into confronta...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for not tempting me to infringe the guidance you have given, Mr ...

I support new clause 2. In most people’s eyes the Bill was designed essentially to protect the UK...

I am sure my hon. Friend is going to explain new clause 4 in more detail. I am troubled by the wa...

My hon. Friend anticipates the argument that I am going to put. I was in discussion about whether...

Order. May I gently remind Parliamentary Private Secretaries —[Interruption.] Order. A Member is ...

The only comfort that I take is that my remarks are evidently creating such confusion on the Fron...

I shall be brief, because under the programme motion we have only half an hour left to discuss th...

I thank all the hon. Members who have contributed to the debate on this series of amendments and ...

Is the Minister saying that she is incapable of making her own decision and exercising her own ju...

No, but I think that it is very important to listen to Parliament, as I have outlined. Indeed, I ...

The Minister is quite wrong on that. I am not coming from that position; I came to that view afte...

I do not believe that is the case. The adjudicator will obviously be able to make their own asses...

The Minister is making a compelling case for the Bill, which we all support. I wonder whether she...

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. The Competition Commission was very clear that innov...

Does that mean, then, that the Minister can now place on the record that the Government expect th...

I absolutely give that assurance. If a body such as the OFT receives information, particularly fr...

Is my hon. Friend at all contrite about the fact that we will not reach the second and third grou...

No, I am not. We have had an interesting debate, although I suspect it could have been more conci...

We have had a good debate. I am grateful to my hon. Friends who have supported my proposals. I am...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

Before I go any further, I wish to...

Will the Minister give way?

Of course I will. I was going to say something nice about the hon. Gentleman later, but he may pr...

I hope that my remarks will not preclude that. In my capacity as Chair of the Select Committee on...

Order. Before the Minister answers that rather lengthy intervention, bordering on a speech, I rem...

Thank you for that timely reminder, Mr Deputy Speaker. I shall be brief in my list of thanks.

Give examples!

I could not possibly; it would embarrass the hon. Member for Ogmore too much.

Now that I ha...

rose—

Order. Before I call Ian Murray, I should say that a lot of hon. Members want to speak, and the d...

I will be quick, but let me start by returning the thanks to the Front-Bench team—the Minister of...

Sherwood.

Sherwood, of course. I was not even in the right part of the country. The hon. Gentleman used the...

I shall just take 60 seconds to add my congratulations to those on the Front Bench for introducin...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sherwood (Mr Spencer). The Minister was right to c...

I add my congratulations to everyone involved from the early days, including my hon. Friend the M...

I applaud the Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the hon. Mem...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way in his thanks to me to allow me to put on the record my...

I am glad I gave way to give the Minister the opportunity to convey her thanks to the officials.<...

Following the contribution from the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), may I say that d...

What a nauseating love-in! We have this ridiculous idea that the adjudicator will be good for sup...