51茶馆

Summary of consultation themes and government response

Theme 1

Government response

The steer sets out that the聽鈥�CMA聽should consider the actions being taken by competition and/or consumer protection agencies in other jurisdictions internationally, and, where appropriate, seek to ensure parallel regulatory action is timely, coherent and avoids duplication where these parallel actions effectively address issues arising in markets in the UK.鈥�

We consider the inclusion of 鈥渨here appropriate鈥� and the reference to 鈥渋ssues arising in markets in the UK鈥� to be sufficiently clear that while the CMA should consider the actions being taken by international agencies, this does not equate to following those actions unless doing so would address issues in the UK.

We have also added an additional sentence to the last paragraph of Section 2.2 to make it clear the government expects the CMA to engage with international partners on issues of common interest.

Theme 2

Government response

The government is committed to protecting the role of the CMA as the UK鈥檚 independent competition authority and this is made clear in the introduction of the steer, including where we state that the government expects 鈥渢he聽CMA鈥檚 actions to be swift, predictable, independent and proportionate.鈥�

While we consider the CMA鈥檚 independence to be implicit throughout the steer, we have added additional references to the CMA鈥檚 independence in Section 2.1 where we set out the expectation that the CMA will use its tools proportionately with growth and investment in mind. We have amended the text (addition in bold) to state that the 鈥�CMA聽must at all times properly and independently exercise its statutory functions to promote competition and protect consumers鈥�.

In relation to the CMA鈥檚 new digital powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, we have amended the text to read that the 鈥�CMA聽should use the new聽Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act聽digital market regime independently, flexibly, proportionately and collaboratively to effectively unlock opportunities for growth across the UK digital economy and the wider economy.鈥�

Theme 3

Government response

In the introduction to the steer, we state the government鈥檚 expectation that the CMA鈥檚 actions will be 鈥渟wift, predictable, independent and proportionate.鈥� In Section 2.1 we further set out that the CMA should 鈥渢ackle as swiftly as possible, in line with the new duty of expedition, anti-competitive conduct which harms businesses and consumers, and limits the potential of our economy.鈥�

We consider it important that the CMA should take swift action, specifically to tackle anti-competitive conduct that harms businesses and consumers, and do not consider there to be any implication that acting swiftly compromises the quality of the CMA鈥檚 decision-making.

Theme 4

Government response

The steer makes it clear that 鈥渢he CMA should provide proactive, transparent, timely, predictable and responsive engagement with businesses to enable them, in turn, to engage quickly and effectively with the聽CMA, including engagement during聽CMA听颈苍惫别蝉迟颈驳补迟颈辞苍蝉.鈥�

Effective engagement with businesses is essential for the CMA, but the government acknowledges that engagement with wider stakeholders is also vital for the CMA to deliver for businesses and consumers. In response, we have amended the sentence that follows to 鈥淚n doing so the聽CMA聽should focus on collaborative approaches to resolving issues with interested parties.鈥�

Respondents

A breakdown of respondents by type is as follows:

Respondent type	Number of responses
Businesses	17
Trade associations and industry bodies	11
Academics	3
Lawyers or law firms	4
Charities	2
Non-profit organisations	2
Public bodies	1
Anonymous	1