NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION (No. 2)

Early day motion 2488, tabled 3 July 2006 by Jim Dowd (Labour). Signed by 40 members.

That this House welcomes the statement by John Fingleton, Chief Executive of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), on the draft Opinion, published on 31st May 2006 on the future of newspaper and magazine distribution; notes that the OFT has identified the real and genuine concerns raised by retailers about current supply chain arrangements that lead to inefficient service to consumers and inappropriate levels of wastage, accompanied by unacceptable abuse of retailers; refutes the claim of publishers that any change to existing arrangements will unaviodably lead to the closure of 20,000 newagents; applauds the concurrent review of the existing Code of Practice on newspaper distribution; supports the proposals from the National Federation of Retail Newsagents for a new, all-inclusive, industry Code of Practice, overseen by an industry funded ombudsman, that will ensure effective compliance and enforcement to meet the competitive shortcomings inherent in current supply chain arrangements; and urges the publishers to come together with retailers to draw up a workable solution for the presentation to the OFT that will maintain availability of 3,500 newspaper and magazine titles which provide unique choice for UK consumers.

Signatures by party: Labour 25, Liberal Democrat 11, Conservative 2, DUP 1, Plaid Cymru 1.