“The existing [competition and markets] framework, in the years ahead, just won’t do. It has to be substantially improved”. That was the summation from Andrew Tyrie, chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), at a recent Policy Exchange debate over the regime’s future. “Doing nothing is not an option,” he said, adding that the CMA must “do its bit” to bolster consumers’ failing confidence in markets.

CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli admitted, “the focus on mergers and enforcement has meant that sometimes we have missed opportunities to get more leverage out of the evidence and knowledge we have accumulated, by efecting change through others – whether government or regulators.” He promised more action on advocacy, using new metrics on competition and markets (see below) to prioritise action and the CMA has promised to work with Citizens Advice and its 2.7 million customer touchpoints.

This is an extract from a report on the Policy Exchange debate in the March issue of New Power Report. Subscribers can click here to read all participants’ views on the role of the CMA in a rapidly changing industry. 

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