Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee

Recommendation 15

Fourth Report - Post-pandemic economic growth: state aid and post-Brexit competition policy Published 25 Oct 2022 Paragraph 120 Addressed to Department for Business and Trade

Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Post-pandemic economic growth: State Aid and Post Brexit Competition Policy All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Recommendation (the committee's words)

Weak competition and consumer policy will lead to detriment for consumers and worse economic outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable in society. We 50 Post-pandemic economic growth: state aid and post-Brexit competition policy encourage Ministers to build upon existing UK consumer law and to refrain from fundamental changes to it. Whilst UK consumer law is comprehensive, consumers still have low levels of understanding of their rights and enforcement is weak. We therefore call on Ministers to give consumer enforcement agencies additional powers and resources to improve their enforcement of consumer rights, in the interests of consumers and competition in markets. We also encourage the CMA to formally collaborate with consumer and competition law agencies in regulated sectors to reduce consumer detriment.

From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Fourth Report - Post-pandemic economic growth: state aid and post-Brexit competition policy (HC 759), paragraph 120, 25 October 2022

Government response

Fifth Special Report - State aid and post-Brexit competition policy: Office for the Internal Market response to the Committee’s Fourth Report

The government responded to the whole report on 28 April 2023 (deadline 25 December 2022).

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Third Special Report - Post pandemic economic growth: State aid and post-Brexit competition policy: Responses to the Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2022–23

Published 10 February 2023.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The Government welcomes the Committee's report, says it agrees that competition, consumer protection and an effective subsidy regime support growth, and refers the recommendations addressed to the CMA to the CMA for a separate response.

On the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, it states the Bill "will be introduced in the current session", and says it will strengthen consumer protection law through the Bill.
It does not commit to updating the Committee within one year on the subsidy regime, saying it is "unlikely that key lessons will be learned within a single year" but it will update the Committee "as appropriate".
The CMA is to review and report on the subsidy regime's effectiveness, with the first monitoring report "due three years after commencement of the regime, in 2026".
On subsidy control guidance, it says BEIS published statutory guidance, a 'quick guide' and a principles assessment template on 11 November, ahead of commencement in January 2023.

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