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Competition and Markets Authority

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Competition and Markets Authority
Competition and Markets Authority.svg
Authority overview
Formed1 October 2013
TypeNon-ministerial government department
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
HeadquartersThe Cabot
25 Cabot Square
London
E14 4QZ
Employees859; 831 FTEs (2021)[1]
Authority executives
  • Marcus Bokkerink[2], Acting Chairman
  • Sarah Cardell (interim)[3], Chief Executive
Parent departmentDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Child Authority
Websitewww.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority Edit this at Wikidata

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the competition regulator in United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-competitive activities. The CMA launched in shadow form on 1 October 2013 and began operating fully on 1 April 2014, when it assumed many of the functions of the previously existing Competition Commission and Office of Fair Trading, which were abolished.

Discover more about Competition and Markets Authority related topics

Competition regulator

Competition regulator

A competition regulator is the institution that oversees the functioning of markets. It identifies and corrects practices causing market impediments and distortions through competition law. In general it is a government agency, typically a statutory authority, sometimes called an economic regulator, that regulates and enforces competition laws and may sometimes also enforce consumer protection laws. In addition to such agencies, there is often another body responsible for formulating competition policy.

United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is 242,495 square kilometres (93,628 sq mi), with an estimated 2023 population of over 68 million people.

Non-ministerial government department

Non-ministerial government department

Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of department of the United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political oversight has been judged unnecessary or inappropriate. They are headed by senior civil servants. Some fulfil a regulatory or inspection function, and their status is therefore intended to protect them from political interference. Some are headed by a permanent office holder, such as a Permanent Secretary or Second Permanent Secretary.

Competition Commission

Competition Commission

The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It was tasked with ensuring healthy competition between companies in the UK for the ultimate benefit of consumers and the economy.

Office of Fair Trading

Office of Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic regulator. The intention was for the OFT to make markets work well for consumers, ensuring vigorous competition between fair-dealing businesses and prohibiting unfair practices such as rogue trading, scams, and cartels. Its role was modified and its powers changed by the Enterprise Act 2002.

Formation

On 15 March 2012 the UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced proposals for strengthening competition in the UK by merging the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to create a new single Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).[4] The formation of the CMA was enacted in Part 3 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013,[5] which received royal assent on 25 April 2013.

In July 2012, Lord Currie was appointed chairman designate of the CMA and in January 2013 Alex Chisholm was appointed Chief Executive designate.[6] The term 'designate' was dropped when the CMA was launched on 1 October 2013.

On 15 July 2013 BIS announced the first stage of an open public consultation period and published a summary, setting out the background to the consultation and inviting views on the draft guidance for the CMA.[7] The first stage of the consultation ended on 6 September 2013. On 17 September, BIS announced the second stage of the consultation, which closed on 7 November 2013.[8]

During 2013 and 2014, the CMA announced several waves of appointments at director level, reporting to members of the senior executive team.[9]

On 28 March 2014 the CMA published the Rules of Procedure for CMA merger, market and special reference groups[10] following a consultation which ran from 21 February to 18 March.

On 12 August 2019, the CMA's London office moved to The Cabot, 25 Cabot Square, in London's Canary Wharf area.[11]

Discover more about Formation related topics

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). It was disbanded on the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 July 2016.

Office of Fair Trading

Office of Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic regulator. The intention was for the OFT to make markets work well for consumers, ensuring vigorous competition between fair-dealing businesses and prohibiting unfair practices such as rogue trading, scams, and cartels. Its role was modified and its powers changed by the Enterprise Act 2002.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, also known as ERRA, is a major Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed at reforming the regulatory environment faced by small and medium-sized business. It established a UK Green Investment Bank, reformed several aspects of employment law, cut regulation and addressed a range of other regulatory issues. The Act also strengthened the regulatory settlement on mergers and anti-competitive behaviour. In doing so, part 3 of the Act established a new combined Competition and Markets Authority, which took over the functions of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission. It received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013. It implemented reforms to UK competition procedures which had been announced in March 2012.

Royal assent

Royal assent

Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in others that is a separate step. Under a modern constitutional monarchy, royal assent is considered little more than a formality. Even in nations such as the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein and Monaco which still, in theory, permit their monarch to withhold assent to laws, the monarch almost never does so, except in a dire political emergency or on advice of government. While the power to veto by withholding royal assent was once exercised often by European monarchs, such an occurrence has been very rare since the eighteenth century.

David Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone

David Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone

David Anthony Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone is a British economist specialising in regulation, and a cross-bench member of the House of Lords. Currie was the inaugural Chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Alex Chisholm

Alex Chisholm

Alex Chisholm is a British civil servant and regulator, who has served as Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and the chief operating officer of the United Kingdom's Civil Service since April 2020.

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf

Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. With the City of London, it constitutes one of the main financial centres in the United Kingdom and the world, containing many high-rise buildings including the third-tallest in the UK, One Canada Square, which opened on 26 August 1991.

Responsibilities

In situations where competition could be unfair or consumer choice may be affected, the CMA is responsible for:[12]

  • investigating phase 1 and phase 2 mergers[13]
  • conducting market studies and market investigations[14]
  • investigating possible breaches of prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements under the Competition Act 1998
  • bringing criminal proceedings against individuals who commit cartels offences
  • enforcing consumer protection legislation, particularly the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Directive and Regulations
  • encouraging regulators to use their competition powers
  • considering regulatory references and appeals
  • Regulation of public sector subsidies to business
  • Oversight of the UK Internal Market

Discover more about Responsibilities related topics

English contract law

English contract law

English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth, from membership in the European Union, continuing membership in Unidroit, and to a lesser extent the United States. Any agreement that is enforceable in court is a contract. A contract is a voluntary obligation, contrasting to the duty to not violate others rights in tort or unjust enrichment. English law places a high value on ensuring people have truly consented to the deals that bind them in court, so long as they comply with statutory and human rights.

Competition Act 1998

Competition Act 1998

The Competition Act 1998 is the current major source of competition law in the United Kingdom, along with the Enterprise Act 2002. The act provides an updated framework for identifying and dealing with restrictive business practices and abuse of a dominant market position.

Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999

Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 is an old UK statutory instrument, which had implemented the EU Unfair Consumer Contract Terms Directive 93/13/EEC into domestic law. It replaced an earlier version of similar regulations, and overlaps considerably with the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

MyFerryLink ruling

The UK Competition Commission ruled several times against MyFerryLink, an English passenger and ferry freight company, preventing its operations from Dover despite the French competition authority authorising cross-channel activity.[15] The French government justified the decision to ban one out of three ferry operators with fair-trade concerns.[16] The appeals court overturned these rulings, as MyFerryLink was not a merger of the bankrupt SeaFrance and Eurotunnel, the latter of which remains responsible for the management of the Channel Tunnel.[17][18] MyFerryLink called attention to a potential conflict of interest, pointing out that the former accountant of DFDS, the competitor and plaintiff of the case, was now a member of the UK Competition Commission.[19] Following these delays, Eurotunnel, owner of the boats rented to MyFerryLink, sold two new boats to the aforementioned competitor.[20] Due to this, the port of Calais was blocked by workers, boats were occupied and the Channel Tunnel attacked, resulting in cross-channel disruption and traffic jams in the UK and France.[21]

Discover more about MyFerryLink ruling related topics

MyFerryLink

MyFerryLink

MyFerryLink was an English Channel passenger and freight ferry company which began operating between Dover and Calais in August 2012. The MyFerryLink fleet consisted of two modern ferries – sister ships the MS Rodin and the MS Berlioz – that carried passengers and freight, and one dedicated freight ship, the MS Nord Pas-de-Calais. It was formed following the liquidation of SeaFrance. MyFerryLink offered passengers up to sixteen sailings between Dover and Calais every day, and additional services for freight.

DFDS

DFDS

DFDS is a Danish international shipping and logistics company. The company's name is an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab. DFDS was founded in 1866, when C.F. Tietgen merged the three biggest Danish steamship companies of that day.

Calais

Calais

Calais is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The population of the city proper is 72,929; that of the urban area is 149,673 (2018). Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 mi) wide here, and is the closest French town to England. The White Cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day from Calais. Calais is a major port for ferries between France and England, and since 1994, the Channel Tunnel has linked nearby Coquelles to Folkestone by rail.

Channel Tunnel

Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel, also known as the Chunnel, is a 50.46-kilometre (31.35 mi) underwater railway tunnel that connects Folkestone with Coquelles beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 75 metres (246 ft) deep below the sea bed and 115 metres (377 ft) below sea level. At 37.9 kilometres (23.5 mi), it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, and is the third longest railway tunnel in the world. The speed limit for trains through the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph). The tunnel is owned and operated by the company Getlink, formerly "Groupe Eurotunnel".

Source: "Competition and Markets Authority", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, October 7th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Authority.

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Notes
  1. ^ "CMA: workforce management information December 2021". Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Marcus Bokkerink". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Sarah Cardell appointed as interim CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Strengthening competition and creating a single competition and markets authority (CMA)". Department for Business Innovation & Skills. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, Part 3". The National Archives. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Competition and Markets Authority". Ministerial statement by Vince Cable. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Competition and Markets Authority – Open consultation guidance". Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Competition and Markets Authority guidance, Part 2". Department for Business Innovation and Skills, UK Government. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  9. ^ Appointments at Director level:
    seven: "CMA announces further appointments". Competition and Markets Authority, UK Government. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
    eighteen "Second wave of appointments". Competition and Markets Authority, UK Government. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
    eighteen "Third wave of appointments". Competition and Markets Authority, UK Government. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
    eleven "Further wave of appointments". Competition and Markets Authority, UK Government. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Rules of Procedure for Merger, Market and Special Reference Groups" (PDF). CMA. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  11. ^ "CMA completes move to Canary Wharf". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  12. ^ "CMA Responsibilities". UK Government. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  13. ^ "Competition: Mergers - detailed information - GOV.UK".
  14. ^ "Competition: Markets - detailed information - GOV.UK".
  15. ^ "L'autorité de la concurrence autorise Eurotunnel à racheter la flotte de SeaFrance". 14 November 2012.
  16. ^ "French Ministry of Transport blame CMA decision".
  17. ^ "Judge decision in Scop SeaFrance against CMA" (PDF).
  18. ^ http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2015/05/26/54301/appeal-bid-against-myferrylink-ruling-turned-down.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ^ "MyFerryLink interdit de séjour en Angleterre". 28 June 2014.
  20. ^ "MyFerryLink : Eurotunnel cède deux bateaux au Danois DFDS". 8 June 2015.
  21. ^ "Travel chaos as strike continues". BBC News. BBC. 1 July 2015.
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