History
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). [6] The formation of the CMA was enacted in Part 3 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, [7] 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. [8] 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consultation period and published a summary setting out the background to the consultation and inviting views on the draft guidance for the CMA. [9] The first stage of the consultation ended on 6 September 2013. On 17 September, BIS announced the second consultation stage, which closed on 7 November 2013. [10]
During 2013 and 2014, the CMA announced several waves of appointments at the director level, reporting to members of the senior executive team. [11]
On 28 March 2014, the CMA published the Rules of Procedure for CMA merger, market, and special reference groups [12] following a consultation 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. [13]
In 2021, the CMA announced that it would establish branch offices in Manchester and Darlington. The Manchester office would house the Digital Markets Unit, charged with "oversee[ing] a new regulatory regime for the most powerful digital firms", forming a 'Digital Hub' with the Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum. The Darlington office, part of the UK Government's Darlington Economic Campus, would be home to the Microeconomics Unit, in charge of the economic research and evaluation functions of the CMA, including production of the State of Competition report. The Microeconomics Unit is intended to complement the Bank of England's role in macroeconomics, and in July 2023 announced a research and skills-development partnership with the Durham Research in Economic Analysis and Mechanisms centre at Durham University. [14] [15]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction over federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The agency is headquartered in the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington, DC.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007.
Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertainment.
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.
Vodafone Limited, trading as Vodafone UK, is a British telecommunications company, owned by Vodafone Group, the world's eighth-largest telecommunications company. Vodafone is the third-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with 18.5 million subscribers as of July 2024, after O2 and EE, followed by Three. The country's first cellular phone call was made on the Vodafone network in 1985.
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas).
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.
Live Nation is an American events promoter and venue operator based in Beverly Hills, California. Founded in 1996 by Robert F. X. Sillerman as SFX Entertainment, the company's business was built around consolidating concert promoters into a national entity to counter the oversized influence of ticket behemoth Ticketmaster. In 2000, the company was sold to Clear Channel Communications for $4.4 billion and operated as Clear Channel Entertainment until 2005, when it was spun off as Live Nation. In 2010, Live Nation merged with the ticketing firm Ticketmaster to form a larger conglomerate named Live Nation Entertainment.
The Competition Authority (TCA) was responsible for enforcing Irish and European competition law in the Republic of Ireland and promoting competition in the economy. In 2014 it was amalgamated with the National Consumer Agency to form the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The Competition Bureau is the independent law enforcement agency in charge of regulating competition in Canada, responsible for ensuring that markets operate in a competitive manner.
The Commerce Commission is a New Zealand government agency with responsibility for enforcing legislation that relates to competition in the country's markets, fair trading and consumer credit contracts, and regulatory responsibility for areas such as electricity and gas, telecommunications, dairy products and airports. It is an independent Crown entity established under the Commerce Act 1986. Although responsible to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, the Commission is run independently from the government, and is intended to be an impartial promotor and enforcer of the law.
The Gambling Commission is an executive, non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in Great Britain. Its remit covers arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, slot machines and lotteries, as well as remote gambling, but not spread betting. Free prize competitions and draws are free of the Commission's control under the "Gambling Act 2005".
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. It was disbanded by the Theresa May premiership on the creation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 July 2016.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets in the United Kingdom.
Consumer protection in the United Kingdom is effected through a multiplicity of Acts of Parliament, statutory instruments, the work of various government agencies and departments, and citizens' lobby groups. It aims to ensure the market economy produces fairness and quality in the goods and services people buy. The main areas of regulating consumer affairs include:
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, also known as ERRA, is a major act of Parliament 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.
The Pubs Code etc. Regulations 2016 were introduced by the UK Government as part of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The code was passed on 14 June 2016 and implemented on 21 July 2016.
The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to February 2023.
Andrea Coscelli is an Italian-British economist and businessperson serving as Partner and Head of Europe at Keystone Strategy.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets is a ministerial position in the Department for Business and Trade in the British Government. It is currently held by Justin Madders
