Consultation outcome

Streamlining the CMA’s approach to issuing directions in relation to the enforcement of market and merger undertakings and orders

This consultation has concluded

Read the full outcome

Response to the consultation

Detail of outcome

The CMA has published its response to the consultation and issued revised guidance regarding its process for issuing directions to relevant parties.

Feedback received

HSBC

Barclays

Lloyds

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Detail of feedback received

Feedback received can be found above.


Original consultation

Summary

The CMA is consulting on updated guidance on the process to issue directions to parties within the scope of the CMA’s markets and merger orders and undertakings.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

To help businesses subject to the Competition and Market Authority (CMA)’s market and merger orders and undertakings understand how the CMA investigates breaches and enforces compliance with these orders and undertakings, the CMA published merger and market remedies guidance on 29 January 2021, following public consultation. This was the first time that the CMA had issued public guidance about its approach to enforcement of its undertakings and orders in this area.

The guidance has been helpful for both the CMA and parties subject to orders and undertakings in explaining the CMA’s approach and how it uses the specific enforcement tools currently available to it, in relation to the issuing of directions.

However, the approach set out in the guidance has in practice proven duplicative, as it involves the CMA consulting with these parties twice in relatively quick succession. The CMA is now consulting on how to improve its guidance and practice in this area.

Documents

Updates to this page

Published 8 December 2022
Last updated 4 July 2023 + show all updates
  1. Updated response to the consultation and Lloyds feedback published

  2. Response to consultation, including public feedback responses, published.

  3. First published.

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