Vulnerability and digital economy feature in CMA's draft plan

3 Dec 2018 04:26 PM

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is seeking views on its priorities for the next financial year.

Making sure people get a good deal from businesses and that firms treat their customers fairly remain central to the CMA’s work.

In 2019/20 the CMA proposes to:

• step up its interest in people who are vulnerable to exploitation, or getting a poor deal due to their personal circumstances, building on the programme of work it launched in 2018
• improve trust in markets, by ensuring customers are treated fairly and clearly explaining how competitive markets benefit people across the UK
• promote better competition in online markets, retaining a strong interest in how the digital economy is developing, and protecting people from illegal and unfair practices online
• support economic growth and productivity, helping to create the conditions which allow innovative businesses that treat their customers well to emerge and succeed

The draft plan sets out how preparing for the UK’s exit from the EU is a high priority for the CMA, both in terms of policy development and expansion to prepare for significant additional responsibilities. The CMA is focused on being ready whether or not there is an implementation period after March 2019.

The CMA enters 2019/20 with a substantial volume of ongoing work and at the time of publication has 23 competition enforcement cases, 5 consumer enforcement cases, 1 super-complaint investigation, 17 merger investigations, 1 market investigation and 2 market studies under way. Most recently, it published the interim report in its funerals market study and is now consulting on its proposal to refer the sector for an in-depth market investigation.

For more information, read our draft 2019/20 Annual Plan.

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