Supermarkets cleared to pool resources
Customers who shop online with one supermarket could begin receiving their groceries from a rival store’s delivery service under emergency measures due to be implemented next week. In response to an unprecedented surge in demand sparked by the coronavirus crisis, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, last night announced that from next week competition laws would be relaxed to allow supermarkets to pool resources.
CUSTOMERS who shop online with one supermarket could begin receiving their groceries from a rival store’s delivery service under emergency measures due to be implemented next week.
In response to an unprecedented surge in demand sparked by the coronavirus crisis, George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, last night announced that competition laws would be relaxed to allow supermarkets to pool resources.
The changes, to be introduced next week, will allow retailers to share staff, delivery depots and vans, while stores close to one another will be able to coordinate closure days to enable more time for restocking. Relaxation of limits on drivers’ hours and delivery times would also increase the ability of supermarkets to replenish stocks.
It came as Boris Johnson was last night forced to call on the public to “be reasonable” as panic-buying continued, leaving supermarket shelves stripped bare.
Large queues formed from daybreak, with one Sainsbury’s store near Guildford forced to open early due to the volume of customers outside.
In West Yorkshire, a food bank was burgled, with food, sanitary products and basic supplies stolen, while reports also surfaced of allotments being raided.
There are growing fears that school closures and a potential lockdown of London pubs, cafes, restaurants could exacerbate the situation.
Urging the public to show restraint, the Prime Minister yesterday insisted Britain had a “good supply chain, from farm to fork” and that there was no reason for shops to be empty.
Speaking at the daily No 10 press briefing, he said: “Please be reasonable in your shopping, be considerate and thoughtful for others.”
The temporary relaxation of competition law came after The Daily Telegraph disclosed that supermarket leaders had called on ministers to ease rules making it illegal for them to work together. Legislation amending the Competition Act 1998 will be introduced next week and will apply retrospectively.
Mr Eustice said: “We will do whatever it takes to help them feed the nation. By relaxing elements of competition laws temporarily, our retailers can work together on their contingency plans and share the resources they need.”
Mr Eustice praised measures already taken by supermarkets, including limiting purchases. However, industry insiders last night warned that supply chains were already under pressure, with one source claiming that current demand far exceeded their daily capacity.
While the industry thinks demand will fall to manageable levels soon, ministers have been warned that riots and civil disobedience could break out if production is unable to keep up.
It was also revealed that thousands of lorries could be grounded after MOT tests were suspended for vehicles over 3.5 tons yesterday, meaning at least 2,000 lorries a day would have missed their MOTS and technically not be roadworthy. As a result the Freight Transport Association urged the Department for Transport to temporarily waive MOT requirements during the crisis. Otherwise, it said, the consequences for businesses and transporters of supplied would be “unthinkable.”
Separately, Theresa Villiers, the former environment secretary, urged ministers to do more to help supermarkets deliver shopping to millions of households being forced to self-isolate.
As more people were forced to stay at home the demand for home deliveries would surge, she warned.
“Clearly the retailers don’t have the capacity to provide deliveries to millions of households,” Ms Villiers said. “If the advice gets even tougher then there will need to be further Government intervention to ensure we get more home deliveries to far more homes than retailers have the capacity to do.”
Ocado, the online supermarket, closed its website until the weekend after receiving a 400 per cent surge in demand, while other supermarkets also experienced online crashes. Ocado said that when its website relaunched tomorrow, customers would face limits on the number of items in their basket.
Updating MPS yesterday, Mr Eustice was urged by Labour to work with the supermarkets to ensure food banks continued to receive supplies, following reports that supply had fallen by half in some regions, while distribution centres were being hampered by the number of elderly volunteers being forced to self-isolate.
Last night Fareshare, the food poverty charity, called on ministers to give £5 million to farmers, manufacturers and distributors to continue supplying it with food. Lindsay Boswell, its chief executive, warned that it was facing an “unprecedented challenge”, adding that the closure of schools was likely to lead to a “significant increase in demand for our service”.
Mr Eustice indicated that supermarket and food supply personnel would be classed as “key workers”, acknowledging that up to a third were parents who would be affected by school closures. A final list of designated workers had, as of last night, not been published by the Government.