CMA Responds to DBT’s Consultation on Refining the UK’s Competition Regime

The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published its response to the ‘Refining our Competition Regime – Driving Growth and Enhancing Competition for Businesses and Consumers’ (the Consultation) with support for the majority of the proposals. 

The CMA noted that it would welcome increases accountability for decision making during mergers by allowing decisions to be made by a board consisting of CMA executive and senior staff and at least 50% non-executive members or experts from a pool of decision members. 

It was agreed that a new single-phase market review tool should replace the existing market study and investigation tool to allow for flexibility as the market develops to allow the CMA to tailor its approach to individual issues. Further, the CMA agreed with the prospect of introducing a single legal test for single-phase market reviews, namely the adverse effect on consumers test.