Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy

1 Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy Driving growth and delivering competitive markets that work for consumers Closing date: 1 October 2021CP 488 July 2021 Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy : Driving growth and delivering competitive markets that work for consumers Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by Command of Her Majesty July 2021CP 488 Crown copyright 2021 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

2 This publication is available at Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at ISBN 978-1-5286-2824-2 CCS0721951242 07/21 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery OfficeReforming Competition and Consumer Policy 5 General information Why government is consulting This consultation is to seek views on a range of issues in relation to Competition and Consumer Policy . Consultation details Issued: 20 July 2021 Respond by: 1 October 2021 Enquiries to: Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy 4th Floor 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET Tel: 0207 215 5000 Email: Consultation reference: Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy Audiences: Government is seeking views of those with knowledge and expertise in Competition and Consumer law and Policy .

3 This includes Consumer organisations, those in the legal profession, charitable organisations particularly where there is expertise in how to help vulnerable consumers, those in the public sphere such as public enforcers and sector regulators, and advice and resolution services like ombudsman and mediation providers. Government is also seeking views of those with a specific interest in businesses, such as trade associations and membership bodies, both relating to general business interests and specific to those markets particular to the proposals below. Government is also seeking the direct views of consumers and businesses.

4 Territorial extent: Consumer protection is devolved to Northern Ireland but reserved for Scotland and Wales. Consumer advice and advocacy were devolved to Scotland on 23 May 2016 by the Scotland Act 2016. Competition Policy is reserved for the whole of the United Competition and Consumer Policy 6 How to respond Responses and requests for meetings can be sent via electronic or hard copy using the details below. Respond online at: or Email to: Write to: Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy 4th Floor 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET A response form is available on the consultation page: When responding, please state whether you are responding as an individual or representing the views of an organisation.

5 Your response will be most useful if it is framed in direct response to the questions posed, though further comments and evidence are also welcome. Confidentiality and data protection Information you provide in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be disclosed in accordance with UK legislation (the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004). If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please tell us, but be aware that we cannot guarantee confidentiality in all circumstances.

6 An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not be regarded by us as a confidentiality request. We will process your personal data in accordance with all applicable data protection laws. See our privacy Policy . We will summarise all responses and publish this summary on The summary will include a list of names or organisations that responded, but not people s personal names, addresses or other contact details. Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy 7 Quality assurance This consultation has been carried out in accordance with government s consultation principles. If you have any complaints about the way this consultation has been conducted, please email: Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy 8 Foreword Looking back on the past sixteen months, it is clear that this pandemic has had a more profound impact on the way business and the economy functions than anything else in recent history.

7 Government has had to intervene on an unprecedented scale to deliver financial support to protect businesses and jobs as well as people across the UK. Now that our vaccination programme has helped us to end our lockdown rules, it is time to focus on building back better. Key to this will be making an economy that drives enterprise, innovation, productivity, and growth. It is clear to me that competitive, open and fair markets will be fundamental to achieving this goal: well-functioning markets encourage Competition to drive down prices, offer increased choice and new products, and maintain high Consumer standards.

8 This in turn drives investment decisions, creating jobs and growing the economy. This is why competitive free markets are a key feature of Building Back Better: our plan for growth. The way consumers have shopped during the pandemic has seen a drastic change. Although we ve seen a steady rise in online shopping over the past twenty years, that has seen an unprecedented increase over the past sixteen months. Businesses too have innovated in how they are selling goods, services, and digital content to consumers. These innovations are good, and we must ensure that these changes are serving consumers best interests so everyone can benefit from innovative and productive markets.

9 The UK starts from a strong foundation. The UK s Competition system is internationally well regarded. UK consumers benefit from a strong set of rights. When consumers rights are breached, they have multiple routes to independently enforce their rights, and regulators to step in where needed to enforce the law on consumers behalf. But we should always strive to be better and go further. Markets and the way consumers and businesses engage with each other has changed dramatically since our current legislation was enacted. We need to bring our Competition and Consumer policies into the 21st century and make the most of the UK s departure from the European Union to revolutionise the way we protect the British public s hard-earned money.

10 This consultation sets out a vision for transforming our Competition and Consumer policies to make it best in class. Under this new vision we will bolster the Competition and Markets Authority, enhance consumers rights, and ensure those rights are robustly enforced. This will all work to protect consumers and help businesses, particularly start-ups, thrive. Without an open and dynamic economy, we cannot hope to level up the country, eradicate our contribution to climate change, or build the foundations for making the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy 9 Building back better from the COVID-19 pandemic relies on the strength of our markets and consumers faith in them.