Michael Jack MP told the annual Corporation of London markets' dinner that the onus is on the government to sort out the uncertainty surrounding the future of London's markets.
Jack, who chairs the parliamentary select committee for agriculture that has overseen recent submissions from all parties involved in the review of London's food wholesale sector, said: “The government has not shown leadership on this issue. It has failed to pick up the challenge.”
He said that the committee had been very disappointed with the lack of foresight shown in the submission made by Lord Whitty of Defra. “Even now a sinner may repent,” said Jack. “The government still has a few days to reply to the report that the committee must approve and Lord Whitty might just come out [with a sensible strategy] in that time.”
The market debate, he said, has a 10-year cycle. “In the 1970s it was the relocation of Covent Garden, in the 1980s it was Billingsgate and the 1990s saw Smithfield at the top of the agenda. In the noughties we're on to composite markets. We won't always agree on the way forward, but it is up to the owners of the markets to take action for the good of London's markets. Where do we want to be in 10 years time?”
The corporation's markets chairman Daniel Caspi also expressed disappointment that after another year, there is still no clear way ahead.
Caspi said that the government had poured cold water on corporation proposals, while failing to come up with a viable way forward. “The government does not demonstrate the strategic overview that is required,” he said. ”We would like rapid movement, but nothing moves rapidly in this area.”
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