Petition · past parliament

Take action to ensure local shops can get supplies

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Action must be taken to ensure that local shops are able to get supplies. At present the large supermarkets are taking more than they would normally do. The fact that Tesco owns Bookers does not help this.
At a time when we are being asked to minimise our travel it is ludicrous that small shops selling basic provisions cannot get supplies.
These are the very shops that the Government should be supporting because:
- By definition, they are local and so people have to travel less to use them
- They are more able to make home deliveries - my village shop can do this within 24 hours - it is more like 3 weeks for large supermarkets
- The know their communities and who the vulnerable are

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

The Government has made certain changes to enable supermarkets to work together during the coronavirus outbreak, particularly to serve customers who are elderly, ill or vulnerable: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/supermarkets-to-join-forces-to-feed-the-nation

The Government is not responsible for managing the supply of goods to particular shops. This is a matter for individual retailers and wholesalers.

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support

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 can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

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 coronavirus 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

24 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
29 Apr 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 29 Apr 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.