Office of Fair Trading
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OFT welcomes NAO report
The OFT has welcomed today's National Audit Office (NAO) progress report on the OFT's competition work.
'The Office of Fair Trading: Progress Report on Maintaining Competitive Markets', found that the OFT has improved the value for money it provides since the NAO's previous study in 2005. It reports that the OFT has focused its resources on areas where it can have the most impact, become more proactive, and raised its profile by taking strong, high profile action against cases of anti-competitive behaviour.
OFT Chief Executive John Fingleton said:
'This report is positive news for the OFT. We have worked hard over the past three years to promote competitive markets and improve compliance with competition law, and are pleased that the NAO recognises the substantial progress we have made. Effective public enforcement of competition law is central to allowing strong, efficient and customer-focused businesses to drive economic growth and recovery.
'We are very committed to strengthening the skills and experience of our staff, and we welcome the NAO's recommendations for continual improvement in attracting and developing talent. We agree that we can be clearer about the timescales and progress of our investigations, and will be consulting on proposals in this area shortly. We will also ensure that we continue to send out a clear public message about the importance of compliance with competition rules, including in smaller markets.'
NOTES
1. The NAO report released today looks specifically into the OFT's competition enforcement and market study work. The OFT spent approximately £26 million (around 33 per cent) of its £78 million expenditure in 2007-08 on its competition work (£18 million) and market studies (£8 million).
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