Urgent Debates Declined — Supermarket Sector—Lack of Competition, Government Response

Members, I’ve received a letter from Arena Williams seeking to debate under Standing Order 399 the Government’s response to the lack of competition in the supermarket sector. This is a particular case of recent occurrence for which there is ministerial responsibility. An application for an urgent debate on this issue was sought and declined last year because the matter had not reached the level of urgency required to set aside the business of the House to debate it. The most recent Government announcement was that it would make a request for information to support a supermarket competitor. While the issue is an important one, the Government’s announcements to date also do not reach the threshold for an urgent debate. The application is declined.