My Lords, Clause 45 gives the Competition and Markets Authority stronger powers to co-ordinate Competition Act enforcement work and gives sector regulators explicit duties to consider using the Competition Act. This will strengthen the regime for the concurrent competition powers.
The Government want to send a further signal about the need for the strong and effective use of competition powers across the regulated sectors. The Government therefore propose, under Amendment 26B, that if the new concurrency arrangements do not work and a regulator fails to produce better outcomes, the Secretary of State will have a power to ensure that the OFT and then the CMA take sole responsibility for applying concurrent competition powers in that regulated sector.
This will be a reserve power and the Government see its existence as being entirely consistent with our aim throughout to see improvements in the concurrency regime. The use of the power would be subject to a full consultation with those likely to be affected by the proposal to exercise the power, including businesses and customers, and an impact assessment process as well as the affirmative resolution procedure.
Nothing in the current provisions in the Bill or the new clause is intended to affect the Government’s commitment that Monitor will have concurrent powers so that competition rules can be applied by a sector-specific regulator with healthcare expertise. We have therefore revised the new clause in Amendment 26B, following the debate in Committee last week, to make sure that this is absolutely clear. Monitor’s concurrent powers will therefore not be subject to this clause. I acknowledge the amendment put down by, I think, the noble Lord, Lord Whitty and the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter of Kentish Town, which made a very good point. I hope that that finds favour.
I turn to the amendments to the new clause proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter. The Financial Conduct Authority will not have concurrent competition powers so it would not be right to make it subject to this power. Instead, we have provided tailored powers of competition scrutiny of the FCA by the competition authorities in the Financial Services Bill.
The Secretary of State would have to publicly consult and gain Parliament’s approval before an order could be made. He would also no doubt want to take into account the CMA’s concurrency report. In our view, Amendments 26BA, 26BB and 26BC are therefore unnecessary.
Amendment 26BD would provide for arrangements for the co-ordination of concurrency, which in many respects—for example, on information-sharing—will
mirror the arrangements for co-ordination that will be made under Clause 45. It would also duplicate the main features of Amendment 26B in giving the Secretary of State the power to make an order removing the concurrent powers of a sector regulator. Given this, we believe that this amendment is also unnecessary.
I beg to move Amendment 26B and I hope that, in the light of what I have said, the noble Lords will not press their other amendments.
Amendment 26BA (to Amendment 26B)