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The government is under increasing pressure to relax a string of regulations as food retailers say they need to bend the normal rules to help feed the nation.
Defra has already said it will work with local authorities to extend the hours that deliveries can be made to food stores to help keep food supplies on the shelves. In many built-up areas, heavy vehicles cannot normally operate during antisocial hours such as late at night or early in the morning.
This week, the Department for Transport has also agreed to ease restrictions on delivery drivers’ working hours during the crisis. Drivers can now work for 11 hours in one stint, up from nine hours, and can work up to 96 hours in a fortnight, up from 90 hours. Daily rest limits have also been reduced from 11 hours to 9 hours.
The big grocers, however, are calling for the suspension of some competition rules so that supermarkets can work together on securing the supply and distribution of essentials.
George Eustice, the secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, has the power to temporarily exclude the Competition Act prohibition on “agreements between businesses that prevent, restrict or distort competition”. Such a move might help retailers do things like share vans for deliveries from key suppliers or co-operate on keeping at least one store open in a town or part of a city where there are staff shortages because of sickness.
In the past, such orders have been made in relation to the defence industry, such as the maintenance and repair of warships in 2006, and the supply of oil and petroleum products during the 2012 fuel crisis.
Retailers are also asking for:
• Relaxation of restrictions on the weight of goods that delivery vans can take. Retailers say vans can safely take more weight than the current regulations allow. Raising the limit would allow vans to process more home deliveries in one go to cope with increased demand from those self-isolating, sick or avoiding the shops.
• Easing grocery code regulations. The code was developed to prevent big grocers abusing their power over suppliers. They cannot, for instance, halt orders without reasonable warning. The supermarkets say they need the ability to make changes quickly so they can switch away from more obscure products to focus on essentials. Under current rules, they say, that could result in a fine worth up to 1% of UK turnover. Industry regulator the Groceries Code Adjudicator is expected to take a “pragmatic approach” to what counts as reasonable notice during the crisis rather than alter the rules.
• Easing national minimum wage regulations. Morrisons said its plan to let shop workers take time out now with full pay to care for family who are taken ill, and then make up those hours later, might fall foul of minimum wage rules.
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