The All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group will be calling upon Tesco, Asda and the British Retail Consortium to give oral evidence in its inquiry into the future of local shopping and the high street.
The group, chaired by Labour MP for Lewisham West Jim Dowd, will be sending letters to the supermarkets plus other major retailers and their association in the next month.
A spokesman for the group, which is made up of 150 members of parliament, said MPs would soon be reviewing evidence following parliament’s summer recess. “Letters will go out shortly, after the party conferences,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the BRC said that it had submitted written evidence and that it was waiting to see whether it was called for oral evidence. Tesco has also given written evidence.
The High Street Britain 2015 inquiry will assess the existing local retailing market, predict how it will develop to 2015 and make recommendations to the Secretary of State of Trade and Industry and the OFT as to whether the market warrants further investigation.
Ojay McDonald, marketing and communications co-ordinator at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Retail Enterprise Network, which is co-ordinating the inquiry, said there had been a high level of interest.
“We have had more than 50 submissions and the amount of evidence means we will not bring out the final report until the end of the year or it may be put back even further,” he said.
The inquiry is seen as one of the last chances to instigate a full review of the retail market.
The group, chaired by Labour MP for Lewisham West Jim Dowd, will be sending letters to the supermarkets plus other major retailers and their association in the next month.
A spokesman for the group, which is made up of 150 members of parliament, said MPs would soon be reviewing evidence following parliament’s summer recess. “Letters will go out shortly, after the party conferences,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the BRC said that it had submitted written evidence and that it was waiting to see whether it was called for oral evidence. Tesco has also given written evidence.
The High Street Britain 2015 inquiry will assess the existing local retailing market, predict how it will develop to 2015 and make recommendations to the Secretary of State of Trade and Industry and the OFT as to whether the market warrants further investigation.
Ojay McDonald, marketing and communications co-ordinator at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Retail Enterprise Network, which is co-ordinating the inquiry, said there had been a high level of interest.
“We have had more than 50 submissions and the amount of evidence means we will not bring out the final report until the end of the year or it may be put back even further,” he said.
The inquiry is seen as one of the last chances to instigate a full review of the retail market.
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