Posted 4.7.12
Laura Sandys MP Launches ?The Smarter Consumer Commission?
New Consumer Commission to examine how best to support shoppers with rising food prices
Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet, will tomorrow (Thursday 5th July) launch The Smarter Consumer Commission in Parliament to examine how Government and the private sector can best support consumers in the face of the rising price of food. The need for urgent measures to support UK families was this week heightened as droughts in the U.S. pushed the global price of corn up 15% and wheat up 10%.
The group’s membership is drawn from across the food industry and will focus on developing policies that will better support consumers to feed their families for less. With the OECD reporting that UK consumers’ weekly shop has increased by 6.4% - double the EU average – now is the time for action.
Laura said: “The Smarter Consumer Commission will, for the first time, put the consumer at the very heart of policy-making. With those on benefits, low income families and pensioners having to bear the brunt of increasing food prices - but with little influence over external factors such as increasing population and climate change - we must put in place measures to support families to become more resilient to manage the rising cost of living.
“The issues that we will examine include transparent labelling and packaging; food education; more appropriate information and more Government focus on consumer policies. I want a clear plan of action for Government and the private sector to help our constituents get much better value.
“The consumer is the smartest player in the supply chain and will make the right choices if fully informed - but only if the market and Government is transparent. It’s time we were honest and clear that food prices are rising. To support families we will need a cross-departmental approach that harnesses the influence of honest public messaging, education and nutrition to support the consumer to feed their families for less despite the increase in the unit cost of food.”