CMA reform proposals put consumers front and centre

The CMA’s recently launched consultation regarding the UK’s competition regime shows the watchdog remains focussed on putting consumers first.

The CMA proposes merging market studies and investigations into a single “market review” process. The proposal would also replace the existing distinct legal tests for each: in market studies, the CMA considers whether there is “an adverse effect on consumers”, while market investigations assess whether there is “an adverse effect on competition”. The new tool would use a single legal test of “adverse effect on consumers”, thereby strengthening the CMA’s focus on consumer protection. This change would allow the CMA to pursue cases where the causal link between consumer harm and harm to competition is open to dispute.

The CMA’s consumer focus for the markets regime is unsurprising, given it has also emerged as a focus of recent CMA market investigations. For example, many of the regulator’s proposed remedies in the ongoing veterinary services investigation are explicitly consumer focussed. The proposals include “pet owner empowerment remedies”, such as mandatory price lists and transparent pet care plan information.

The CMA has also been active in enforcing its new direct consumer law enforcement powers under the DMCC Act, launching its first investigations at the end of last year (see here).

The consultation coincides with scrutiny of the CMA’s role in supporting the UK growth. Just last week, the CMA’s CEO Sarah Cardell provided oral evidence to the House of Lords, as part of its inquiry into the relationship between regulators and economic growth.

We explore the CMA’s consultation in more detail here.