Examination of Witnesses (Questions 280-286)
RT HON
JANE KENNEDY
MP AND MR
DUNCAN PRIOR
27 OCTOBER 2008
Q280 David Taylor: What was rebutted
by the British Retail Consortium to an extent was that the producers
and the processors are in a relatively weak position in the supply
chain compared with the four major retailers in this country,
who have 80% (or whatever it is) of the market. I asked whether
or not closer integration of producers and processors would (a)
assist the supply chain, make it more efficient, and (b), rebalance
the power within that relationship. I wonder what observations
you have on that.
Jane Kennedy: There is clearly
going to be quite a debate about the recommendations of the Competition
Commission which made quite a series of recommendations as to
how the relationship between producers and retailers could be
opened up to scrutiny, if you wish to describe it like that. The
report of that inquiry did indicate that there was a concentration
of buying power in supermarkets and we understand that there are
concerns about that and about the effectiveness of the code of
practice. We drew the Commission's attention to those matters
that we believed it should look at during that investigation and
those included the impact of supermarket buyer power on the long-term
viability of suppliers. It is not the Government's role to dictate
what should happen between producers and the retailers. We do
want to secure open and effective markets but we also think it
is important that supermarkets recognise that in the long run
they and their customers do need a sustainable UK-based supply
chain. It is not in the supermarkets' long term interests if Mr
Gray's interpretation of the representations is carried out and
the British pig industry goes out of business, so there needs
to be a healthy relationship between those who are purchasing
the products from the producers and the producers themselves and
the health of that relationship will be very much affected by
the balance of power within that relationship.
Q281 David Taylor: Who is your Scottish
counterpart in the administration, and have Defra or have you
had any discussions with them about how the Scottish Pig Task
Force has worked in practice and how effective it has been in
looking at supply chain issues?
Jane Kennedy: Certainly the Secretary
of State was talking with my counterpart, and with my counterpart
in the Welsh Assembly, just last week and I know he does that
regularly. The name is ... Richard Lochhead.
Mr Williams: Elin Jones in Wales.
Q282 Chairman: You have phoned a
friend, Minister.
Jane Kennedy: I have not had the
pleasure of meeting him yet.
David Taylor: Shall I move on to the
labelling section, Chairman?
Chairman: I think that would be very
helpful.
David Taylor: I do not know if the Minister
should have a copy—
Chairman: I think she should; everybody
else has.
Q283 David Taylor: Perhaps the Minister
could have a copy of "Back Bacon Rashers, Tesco, Unsmoked"[8]
which we found as a particularly egregious example of extremely
poor labelling. If you look at the bottom oval in the bottom left
hand corner, you will see something saying—despite the fact
it has got "Produce of Britain" in the top oval—"Produced
using pork from the UK, Denmark, Holland or Sweden and packed
in the UK for Tesco Stores ...", et cetera. You are
a busy minister so presumably send your servants out to buy the
weekend meat, I am sure, but would that be misleading to you and
to them, with the co-location almost of the "Produce of Britain"
and the detailed information that is there? Do you not think that
is extremely misleading for the British consumer? What would you
like to see happen in these cases?
Jane Kennedy: As somebody who
routinely does the shopping for the family within the usual half
hour or so I have available on a Friday or Saturday, I would not
have the time to read the small print and therefore I would rely
on where it says, "Produce of Britain", and I would
have made the assumption that "Produce of Britain" meant
that the bacon had been certainly reared in the UK.
Q284 David Taylor: Whose responsibility
is it for accurate, helpful and legible labelling?
Mr Prior: Ultimately the responsibility
for that is with whoever is supplying that information on the
market, so it is Tesco's responsibility not to mislead the public.
Q285 David Taylor: Who carries the
political responsibility to ensure labelling is accurate?
Mr Prior: The Food Standards Agency.
Q286 David Taylor: Who are responsible
to?
Mr Prior: The Department of Health.
Chairman: For some reason there has been
a division called in the Commons, so we are going to have to curtail
our evidence session because there may well be multiple votes
coming up and it would be unfair on everybody to drag you back.
Thank you very much. We may write to you with some other questions,
Minister, and thank you very much for your written submissions.
Thank you very much.
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