The House: Shop levy plans

Shop levy plans

TONY BLAIR signalled a government rethink on proposals to impose a pounds 90 flat levy on all food shops to pay for the new Food Standards Agency. Small retailers reacted angrily last week to plans to charge corner shops the same fee as supermarkets. "The reason we put it forward originally was that it was going to be much more easy to administer than a graduated charge, but of course this is one of the things the consultative paper will look at," the Prime Minister told MPs.