The Competition Act 1998 (Dairy Produce) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020
2020 No. 481
Competition
The Competition Act 1998 (Dairy Produce) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020
Made 30th April 2020
Laid before Parliament 1st May 2020
Coming into force in accordance with article 1
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 71(3) of, and paragraph 7(1), (2) and (3) of Schedule 3 to, the Competition Act 19981, makes the following Order.
The Secretary of State is satisfied that there are exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy why the Chapter I prohibition (as defined in section 2(8) of that Act) ought not to apply to, or ought to be deemed never to have applied in relation to, agreements of the descriptions specified in this Order.
Citation and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Competition Act 1998 (Dairy Produce) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020 and comes into force on the day after the day on which it is laid before Parliament.
Interpretation
2. In this Order—
“consumer” means an individual who is, or seeks to be, supplied with dairy produce by a retailer;
“coronavirus” means severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2);
“customer” means a person to whom a dairy produce supplier sells milk or other milk products;
“dairy produce” means milk and other milk products;
“the dairy produce demand disruption period” means the period commencing on 1st April 2020 and ending on whichever is the earlier of—
(a) the date specified in a notice published by the Secretary of State in accordance with article 7(2) as the date on which the dairy produce demand disruption period is to end; or
(b) the expiry of this Order in accordance with article 10;
“dairy produce supplier” means—
(a) a farmer who produces and sells milk;
(b) a person operating an establishment which either processes milk or manufactures other milk products or both; and
(c) any other person or group of persons who buy and sell milk or other milk products at any point in the chain of supply for dairy produce between a farmer and consumer;
“farmer” means a person who (alone or in partnership) carries on the trade of farming;
“logistics service provider” means any person carrying on (or actively seeking to carry on) a business providing a service to a dairy produce supplier in relation to delivery or storage of dairy produce or the maintenance of equipment used to process milk or manufacture other milk products;
“milk” means the product of milking one or more cows;
“other milk products” means any milk products other than milk, and includes skimmed and semi-skimmed milk, cream, butter, yoghurt and cheese;
“qualifying activities” has the meaning given in article 3 for dairy produce suppliers and has the meaning given in article 4 for logistics service providers;
“retailer” means any person carrying on (or actively seeking to carry on) a business in the supply of dairy produce to consumers;
“surplus milk” means milk produced which is excess to customer demand.
Qualifying activities by dairy produce suppliers
3.—(1) For the purposes of this Order a qualifying activity by a dairy produce supplier is—
(a)
(a) any activity specified in paragraph (2) insofar as it—
(i) is for the purpose referred to in article 5(2)(a); and
(ii) does not involve the sharing between dairy produce suppliers of any information regarding costs or pricing; or
(b)
(b) any activity specified in paragraph (3) insofar as it—
(i) is for the purpose referred to in article 5(4)(a); and
(ii) does not involve the sharing between dairy produce suppliers of any information regarding costs or pricing.
(2) The activities specified in this paragraph are—
(a)
(a) collecting and sharing information on surplus milk quantities, stock levels, and aggregate customer demand for milk during the dairy produce demand disruption period;
(b)
(b) collecting and sharing information on the availability of milk processing, storage and drying capacity during the dairy produce demand disruption period;
(c)
(c) sharing of labour or coordination of the deployment of labour from other industries into the dairy produce supplier workforce during the dairy produce demand disruption period;
(d)
(d) coordination and sharing of facilities or coordination of the deployment of new facilities in the dairy produce supply chain during the dairy produce demand disruption period;
(e)
(e) coordination on the processing and storage of surplus milk during the dairy produce demand disruption period; and
(f)
(f) sharing information on services provided by logistics service providers during the dairy produce demand disruption period.
(3) The activities specified in this paragraph are—
(a)
(a) coordination as regards the temporary reduction of milk production during the dairy produce demand disruption period insofar as it does not involve coordination with the object of excluding one or more dairy produce suppliers from the market; and
(b)
(b) sharing information on best practices in relation to surplus milk disposal and the environmental impact of surplus milk disposal during the dairy produce demand disruption period.
Qualifying activities by logistics service providers
4.—(1) For the purposes of this Order a qualifying activity by a logistics service provider is any activity specified in paragraph (2) insofar as it—
(a)
(a) is for the purpose referred to in article 6(2)(a); and
(b)
(b) does not involve the sharing between logistics service providers of any information regarding costs or pricing.
(2) The activities specified in this paragraph are—
(a)
(a) sharing information on labour availability during the dairy produce demand disruption period;
(b)
(b)...
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