Under UK regulations, supermarket product selection remains a matter of retailer discretion, contingent upon compliance with food and labelling laws. Retailers operate independently and make sourcing decisions based on commercial, ethical, and consumer considerations.

All supermarkets are expected to support honest and transparent labelling of food products, and the Government routinely engages with industry representatives to support best practices.

We work to maintain high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions.

Investigations into mergers and anti-competitive practices are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition regulator.

I note that the CMA conducted an in-depth investigation into Tesco’s acquisition of Booker in 2017 and concluded that it did not raise competition concerns.

Investigations into mergers and anti-competitive practices are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition regulator.

I note that the CMA conducted an in-depth investigation into Tesco’s acquisition of Booker in 2017 and concluded that it did not raise competition concerns.

Investigations into mergers and anti-competitive practices are the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition regulator.

I note that the CMA conducted an in-depth investigation into Tesco’s acquisition of Booker in 2017 and concluded that it did not raise competition concerns.

The UK Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. In 2015, we introduced the Modern Slavery Act, which requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to publish an annual modern slavery statement stating the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

The Government expects companies to report transparently about how they are mitigating modern slavery risks and to use their modern slavery statements to demonstrate year on year progress. This enables consumers, shareholders and civil society to scrutinise the efforts being made. The Foreign Secretary has not discussed labour conditions or the rights of garment workers in Thailand with his counterpart in Thailand.

No discussions have taken place on this matter.

The UK has consistently supported the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights, which are widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by Governments and businesses worldwide on this important agenda. Implementation of the UNGPs supports access to justice and remedy for victims of business-related human rights abuses, wherever these occur, and encourages businesses to voluntarily adopt due diligence approaches to respecting human rights.

The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UNGPs. In 2015 we introduced the Modern Slavery Act which requires businesses with a turnover of £36m or more to publish an annual modern slavery statement stating the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

The Government expects companies to report transparently about how they are mitigating modern slavery risks and to use their modern slavery statements to demonstrate year on year progress. This enables consumers, shareholders and civil society to scrutinise the efforts being made.

Tesco vouchers have only been provided by the Rifles Benevolent Trust, to help its members with the cost of living. The Trust is a non-Public Charity to support Riflemen (serving and veterans) and their dependants in need. Regimental Associations, and the Benevolent Trusts they run, are independent and decide how they use their funds to provide support.

On Monday 5 July, my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister set out the Covid-19 Response: Summer 2021 plan for living with Covid from 19 July. Lifting restrictions does not mean the risks from Covid-19 have disappeared. However, at this new phase of the pandemic response, we are moving to an approach that enables personal risk-based judgments. The Working Safely guidance is clear that wearing a face covering can still help to reduce risk of transmission of the virus. Therefore, we recommend people to continue to wear face coverings once the legal restrictions are lifted, particularly in crowded and enclosed places, when they are likely to come into contact with people they do not normally meet.

Businesses are free to determine their own face coverings policy based on a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks of Covid-19 in the workplace and identify control measures to manage that risk. Businesses must take equalities law into account when determining their entry policies. Employees and customers who wish to wear a face covering should be supported to do so.

Ministers and officials have periodic meetings with fleet operators about a range of issues. The Government recognises the scope for fleets to be at the vanguard of the transition to zero emission driving, including the recently announced 2030 phase out of new petrol and diesel cars and vans and the phasing out of the sale of new diesel heavy goods vehicles, which we will be consulting on. We will continue to work with fleet operators towards this.

The Government’s £20m Low Emission Freight Trials funded a series of R&D projects aimed at encouraging the widespread introduction of low and zero emission vehicles to UK fleets. Retailers including Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Tesco and John Lewis were all part of this programme to cut emissions and improve air quality by focusing on emissions-busting technologies for trucks and vans.

The Government has to date already committed £1.5 billion to support the early market for greener cars and vans through various grant funding schemes which fleet operators are able to take advantage of. The Government has announced phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, and, from 2035, all new cars and vans must be zero emissions at the tailpipe. To facilitate this we have pledged a further £2.8 billion package of measures to support industry and consumers to make the switch to cleaner vehicles

All large retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco Plc, Asda Stores Ltd, Waitrose and Partners and Marks and Spencer are signed up to a series of resource efficiency programmes we support through our work with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Courtauld 2025 is a voluntary agreement which works across the food chain with the target to, over ten years, cut carbon and waste in the food sector by one fifth by 2025. By collaborating with WRAP and using its tools, guidance and research, retailers can support their supply chains to be more resource efficient, encourage consumers to reduce their waste, and support third-sector organisations to redistribute more surplus food to those in need.

We are also working with WRAP to encourage efforts to reduce other forms of waste.

The UK Plastics Pact is a collaborative initiative to create a circular system that keeps plastic in the economy and out of the natural environment. Led by WRAP and set up in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in April 2018, it is a coalition whose members cover the entire plastics value chain, and all of the major supermarkets are members. The Pact brings these organisations together with four key targets for 2025 that aim to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated, which includes action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging items. Our ambitious reforms to overhaul the waste system will support supermarkets in achieving those targets. This includes making producers more responsible for the products they put on the market, starting with reforming the packaging waste regulations, and making recycling simpler for households and businesses.

We also support WRAP with its industry-led voluntary agreement the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan 2020. This focuses on improving the environmental footprint of the clothing sector, with targets on reducing water and carbon footprints, reducing textiles to landfill and reducing waste produced over whole product lifecycle. A new programme, Textiles 2030, was announced on 10 November and has ambitious targets in line with global goals on carbon, water and resource circularity and aims to drive the shift to a more resource-efficient textiles sector in the UK.

We cannot afford to wait to act against the threat of climate change. We must work together to protect our planet and people and ensure a greener, more resilient future for us all. The UK will host the UN climate change conference COP26 with our partners Italy in November 2021 to bring together world leaders to commit to urgent global climate action. We are encouraging all businesses across the UK to play their part and sign up to the Race to Zero.

We are concerned by reports of human rights abuses on the Kakuzi farming estate in Kenya. We take all allegations of human rights abuses seriously and are closely following the investigation by the Kenyan authorities. The UK has longstanding work with Kenya to strengthen accountability and human rights. We will also continue to use our voice in multilateral fora to hold Kenya to its human rights obligations, for example at the Universal Periodic Review of Kenya conducted at the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.

Officials at the British High Commission in Nairobi will discuss the reports of human rights abuses on the Kakuzi farming estate at upcoming meetings with Human Rights donor groups in Nairobi. The UK supermarkets concerned have all suspended trade with Kakuzi pending the findings of their own and Kenyan authorities’ investigations.

The UK is committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery. Under the 'Transparency in Supply Chains' provision in the Modern Slavery Act, all large businesses in the UK with a turnover of £36 million or more are required to publish an annual transparency statement detailing the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery from occurring in their business and supply chains. This enables consumers, investors and campaigners alike to hold businesses to account. The UK Government engages regularly with business and civil society to ensure we strengthen our collective response to modern slavery and we have committed to strengthen the transparency in supply chains including specified reporting topics, introducing a single reporting deadline and extending the requirement to the public sector.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has a duty to assess the effect of mergers on competition. Last year the CMA investigated the anticipated acquisition of Booker by Tesco and concluded that this merger does not raise any competition concerns.