The CMA has published its Annual Report on the UK’s concurrency arrangements, which came into effect in their current form in 2014. Eight sectoral regulators have competition law powers in the UK, in addition to the CMA as the primary competition authority.
These regulators have powers in their sectors to (i) apply provisions of the Competition Act 1998 relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominance, and (ii) conduct market studies and make market investigation references to the CMA. The CMA can also apply competition powers in the regulated sectors “concurrently” and so the regime imposes obligations on the sectoral regulators and CMA to consult on allocation of cases and other matters.
The reforms introduced in 2014 sought to encourage greater use of competition law powers (as opposed to ex ante regulatory powers) in the regulated sectors, and requires the CMA to report annually on how those powers have been used. The 2023 Annual Report, which considers 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 (the Reporting Period), reveals the following observations.
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