Appointment of Doug Gurr as Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority

The Committee is concerned that the appointment process secured just one appointable candidate, denying the Secretary of State the ability to choose a preferred candidate from a range of options. This is not the hallmark of a robust recruitment process. (Conclusion, Paragraph 17) The role and performance of the CMA

Mr Gurr acknowledged that there is scope for the CMA to do more to protect consumers and that the demand is there. However, he told us that the CMA has already started using its new powers. This includes sanctioning eight companies and providing advice to 100 others, across 14 sectors of the economy, as well as issuing fines worth £130 million, which he categorised as “not light touch”. He suggested that the CMA had started by seeking voluntary undertakings since they were quicker to issue and that if businesses did not comply with them then it would escalate and issue binding orders. We expect to see the CMA use its powers as often and robustly as possible to protect consumers. (Conclusion, Paragraph 25)

Mr Gurr told us that fiscal constraints mean the CMA cannot expect to hire more people, and it must therefore make the most of those they have. Its 4P transformation programme is vital to achieving this, and he also pointed out that investments in AI will increase the CMA’s productivity. We expect the CMA to complete its 4P transformation programme, and free up resources to allow it to carry out more interventions and act more quickly to protect consumers. (Conclusion, Paragraph 27)

Mr Gurr told us that he had so far been working roughly 15 hours a week at the CMA while also spending 40 hours a week on his other commitments, including being the Director of the Natural History Museum. He told us that he believed he could do the role and manage his time properly to respond to emergencies as they occur, especially if supported by a good team. We are 17 concerned that notwithstanding Mr Gurr’s time management, he may not be able to dedicate the time needed to carry out its transformation programme and start wielding its powers effectively. (Conclusion, Paragraph 29)

We are concerned that the Government’s process for recruiting the Chair of the CMA appeared to lack clear objectives for managing the risk of a diminished focus on competition and consumer protection; the need to demonstrate independence from political interference; weak implementation of the powers created by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024; and inadequate supply of time from the Chair. (Conclusion, Paragraph 30) The pre-appointment hearing

During the pre-appointment hearing Mr Gurr demonstrated he had extensive knowledge of the CMA and the requisite experience of chairing public sector bodies. (Conclusion, Paragraph 33)

During the hearing Mr Gurr also demonstrated awareness of the trade-offs between, on the one hand political independence of CMA decision making on individual cases, and on the other, the importance of accountability to Government Ministers and to Parliament. (Conclusion, Paragraph 34)

Mr Gurr’s extensive career with Amazon obviously creates questions about the independence of his decision making on digital market decisions. During extensive questioning, however, we noted that Mr Gurr provided robust evidence that he has, for a period of at least five years, separated himself from Amazon. (Conclusion, Paragraph 35)

We are satisfied that Mr Gurr has the professional competence and independence required to be appointable by the Secretary of State to the position of Chair of the CMA, as the role has been defined. However, we believe that a number of risk mitigation measures are now required, which we set out in the following chapter. (Conclusion, Paragraph 36) Risk management going forward

Our work on competition policy and the pre-appointment hearing has highlighted some areas of concern which we believe require risk mitigation measures. We therefore recommend to Ministers that they: • underline in the Government’s strategic steer that the CMA’s pursuit of growth must not risk market concentration that diminish levels of competition or damage consumers; 18 • make clear the need for operational independence of the CMA in case decisions; • make clear that they expect rigorous implementation of the powers available in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 to better promote competition and protect consumers; • reconsider whether up to two days a week is the right time commitment required of the CMA Chair, and whether further time should be made available to allow time for crisis management; and • consider requiring Mr Gurr to recuse himself from any decision about designating Amazon with Strategic Market Status. We will continue to closely monitor the work of the CMA, and in particular, progress against the identified areas of concern. (Recommendation, Paragraph 37) 19