The proposal
The Fair Food Pricing Bill
A narrow, prospective Bill — drafted to be cross-party — that does four substantive things. It does not propose price controls. It does not ban electronic shelf labels. It does not interfere with loyalty schemes or end-of-day markdowns.
The four substantive provisions
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Clause 1
One price per essential, per moment in time
A supermarket above 280 m² (the Sunday Trading Act 1994 threshold) may not charge different prices for the same essential food item to different identifiable consumers at the same time. “Essential food items” are anchored to the VAT zero-rated schedule — bread, milk, eggs, flour, rice, pasta, fresh produce, raw meat, dairy, infant formula. The list is amendable by regulation after consultation.
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Clause 2
One upward price change per 24 hours
Upward time-of-day price changes on essentials are limited to one per 24 hours. There is no restriction on markdowns. The model is the New York City Council’s recent proposal.
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Clause 3
Shrinkflation disclosure for 60 days
Shelf-edge and online disclosure for 60 days when an essential product has shrunk or had a principal ingredient reduced and the unit price has not fallen. The model is the French Arrêté du 16 avril 2024.
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Clause 4
A 30-day reference-price rule for essentials
For essentials, the EU Price Indication Directive’s 30-day reference-price rule is transposed, closing the gap left by Brexit. This directly answers Which? findings on misleading loyalty-price “regular” prices.
FAQ
The honest answers to the questions MPs’ caseworkers, journalists and policy researchers ask.
Does this ban electronic shelf labels?
No. The Bill explicitly preserves dynamic price updates for restocking, supplier-cost pass-through, and uniform promotions. It restricts upward time-of-day changes on essentials and different prices for different identified consumers on essentials. Stores keep the technology and the operational benefits.
Does this stop end-of-day discounts?
No. The Bill is symmetric only on upward changes. Markdowns — including the yellow-sticker economy that gets fresh food out of skips and into kitchens — are entirely unaffected.
What about Clubcard prices and Nectar prices?
Loyalty pricing is not banned. The Bill bites only on personalised pricing — different prices for different identified individuals at the same moment in time, on essentials. A flat Clubcard discount available to every member who shows the card is a category discount, not personalised pricing. Where loyalty pricing has misled consumers about a “regular” price, the Clause 4 reference-price rule applies.
How is this enforced?
Through the CMA, using powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Direct-fining up to 10% of global group turnover. Trading Standards has concurrent powers on disclosure breaches. Citizens Advice has super-complaint standing.
What happens to small shops, corner shops and farm shops?
They are unaffected. The Bill applies only to supermarkets above 280 m² — the threshold already used in the Sunday Trading Act 1994. Independent grocers, convenience stores and farm shops below that threshold are out of scope.
Why aren’t Article 22 of the UK GDPR and the Equality Act in scope?
Both are defensible on the evidence and the briefing flags them as legitimate concerns. They are not in this Bill because including them widens its attack surface unnecessarily. Article 22 has just been relaxed by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 — the right vehicle for a counter-reform is updated ICO guidance, not a price-restriction Bill. An Equality Act presumption around algorithmic indirect discrimination in retail is better pursued through an EHRC inquiry. Both can be added at later stages of the Bill if cross-party consensus turns out wider than expected.
Does this apply online as well as in-store?
Yes. Personalisation engines are more developed online than in-store; the Bill applies to both channels for the same supermarket.
What if a supermarket says “we don’t do this”?
Good. The British Retail Consortium has already said publicly that supermarkets do not use, and have no plan to use, dynamic or surge pricing in their stores. The Bill turns that voluntary commitment into a legally binding one. It costs supermarkets nothing if they meant what they said.
Routes for parliamentarians
The most efficient operational vehicle for much of this is regulation under section 240 of the DMCCA 2024, which lets the Secretary of State add to the “in all circumstances unfair” Schedule 19. A Private Member’s Bill or Ten Minute Rule motion provides political mandate and visibility. Both routes — or a combination — are practical.
If you are an MP or staffer wanting a one-pager to circulate to colleagues, the Downloads page has it in Word and PDF.