Ministers commission review of markets competition
Ministers have launched a review into the effectiveness of competition in the British economy.
Chancellor Sajid Javid and business secretary Andrea Leadsom have commissioned the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to provide evidence on areas where competition is failing.
In a letter to the competition regulator’s chief executive Andrea Coscelli, the ministers said the current problem is that there is “no agreed way to measure and monitor it the state of competition across the whole economy.”
An assessment by the regulator will provide “valuable evidence” to inform whether the government should intervene and “boost competition across UK markets”.
In the letter, Javid and Leadsom said: “Free and fair competition is critical to reducing the cost of living by providing consumers with better deals, incentivising firms to innovate, and driving productivity and long-run economic growth.”
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The particular focus on productivity comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson promises to tackle the stark regional differences in the UK by “levelling up” the economy.
They added that they were committed to tackling “consumer rip-offs and bad business practices”
The first report by the competition watchdog will be published this summer and will include a preliminary assessment of the issues.
The ministers said that the CMA will work alongside the Office for National Statistics and academics to publish the research.
The competition watchdog announced it is opening an investigation into a planned £10bn gambling merger between Flutter and the Stars Group on the basis that it will hurt competition.
The two firms are hoping that their combined strength will be enough to break into the US market, where sports betting laws have been relaxed.