Petition · past parliament
Regulate the food supply and make 'profiteering in a pandemic' a criminal act.
Rejected
19 signatures
What the petition asks
1) An emergency policy to regulate the supply of food and other essentials, based on both need and the actual capacity of the supply chain. 2) Recognising 'profiteering in a pandemic' as a serious criminal offence with fines proportionate to its heinous nature, with an accessible means of reporting.
A consistent food supply is the best way to reduce panic & save lives. Most panic buying is by frightened people, who make selfish choices. Yet a subset are profiteering by hoarding essential items, before selling at inflated prices. Undernourished people have weak immune systems; a good diet will help reduce the numbers succumbing to Covid-19. Some supermarkets have voluntary restrictions in place: at a time of pandemic it is lamentable that this policy is not being led by Government.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: Restrict people stockpiling and reselling items at inflated prices
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coranavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coranavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
Timeline
| 18 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 31 Mar 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
19
Status
Rejected
Rejected
31 Mar 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.