Committee publication · Correspondence · 20 May 2025
Correspondence from the Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets regarding the Fourth Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator, dated 13 May 2025
Summary
Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets Justin Madders informs Parliament that the Government has launched a 12-week public consultation (closing 5 August 2025) on the performance of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) as part of its statutory fourth review covering April 2022 to March 2025. The review assesses the GCA's effectiveness in enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice among large UK retailers and their suppliers.
Key findings
- Fourth statutory review period spans 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025, following previous reviews in 2016, 2019, and 2022.
- Government consultation seeks stakeholder views on GCA performance against statutory measures; responses due by 5 August 2025.
- Consultation will also gather evidence on unfair contractual practices in supply chains not covered by the Code or Fair Dealings Regulations, and the GCA's interaction with the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).
- Required statutory consultees include the GCA, Competition and Markets Authority, grocery retailers, supplier representatives, consumer representatives, and other appropriate persons.
- Secretary of State will analyse responses and publish findings in a report to be laid before Parliament.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Justin Madders MP, Alistair Carmichael MP, Liam Byrne MP, Groceries Code Adjudicator, Competition and Markets Authority, Department for Business and Trade, Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator
Notable line
“The fourth review will look back over the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025 and seek views and evidence which will allow the Secretary of State to make an assessment of the performance of the GCA against measures set …”
Key Quotes
“… the Government has today published a consultation seeking the views of stakeholders on the performance of the GCA.”
“The statutory review is not a review of the Code or the remit of the GCA. The Code is a competition measure owned by the Competition and Markets Authority as the UK's inde- pendent …”
“Stakeholders have until 5 August 2025 to respond. Following this, the Secretary of State will analyse the responses and consider other publicly available information on the GCA's performance.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗