Christine Tacon has released her response to the review of her role as Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA). In her letter to MP Margot James, Christine has highlighted her achievements to date, since her appointment in 2013 and how she has met her statutory duties set out in the Groceries Code Adjudicator Act 2013
Christine’s submission briefly reiterates how she has chosen to work, how she relies on suppliers coming forward with Code-related issues and how she works with retailers to ensure any issues with the Code are dealt with.
In the GCA Annual Report 2015/16 her performance analysis demonstrates objectives such as providing advice and guidance to retailers and suppliers, alongside her achievements such as the Tesco investigation that concluded in January 2016. The GCA conducts annual surveys, undertaken by YouGov, to track her progress and gain understanding of the concerns of direct suppliers.
Ms Tacon stresses within her submission the importance of training both retail and direct suppliers in the Order of the Code.
The NFU have taken on the task of ensuring our membership understand the GSCOP and GCA role through a series of training sessions, carried out by the British Brands Group.
We will be running our 4th training session on 6th February at NFU HQ.
Members qualify for a 70% discount on course fees. Please email Rm9vZENoYWluRm9jdXNAbmZ1Lm9yZy51aw== to register. This course is open to all members of the NFU, supplying directly or indirectly to the UK top 10 retailers.
Her closing remarks states that the GCA considers it inappropriate to comments on the call for evidence on the case for extending her remit.
To report any potential breaches of GSCOP, through the NFU, please click here. These will be picked up by a member of the Food Chain team at HQ, who will discuss the issue with that member, and if appropriate, will report to the GCA anonymously with the members permission.