Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure
that the interests of (1) consumers, and (2) businesses, in the
United Kingdom, are independently and fairly looked after
following the resignation of the Chairman of the Competition and
Markets Authority.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy () (Con)
My Lords, the Government are committed to ensuring that markets
work well for consumers and businesses and have already ensured
that the Competition and Markets Authority has significant powers
to investigate and act if it finds that companies are behaving
anti-competitively in a market. The CMA will continue to carry
out its important functions. We will announce next steps on
recruitment for a new chair in due course.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. Does he agree
that, for the CMA to do its job properly and enable business to
plan in relation to Brexit, the Government must have a robust,
updated and properly structured competition policy? I heard what
he said, but how will this be achieved? On the latest information
I have, the CMA responded with a comprehensive plan on 21
February 2019. Since then, there has been nothing until a letter
to the chair of the EU Select Committee arrived at 11.02 this
morning; I declare an interest as a member of its sub-committee.
Will the Government urgently introduce legislation on competition
policies to support consumers in the UK and UK business?
We committed in our manifesto to tackle consumer rip-offs and bad
business practices. The issues that the noble Lord, , set out in the CMA’s
letter have helped shape public debate as well as informing
government action. For instance, he said that consideration
should be given to how to capture the benefits for competition
and consumer welfare of the growth in the digital economy. We
agree and have set up smart data proposals that we look forward
to implementing.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, through the 100 days of Covid we have heard many
complaints from consumers who have not been refunded for
cancelled trips and cancelled products by the sellers; they have
had no recourse. It is a serious situation that the Government
ought to look into. If the Government are to make the UK globally
competitive after Brexit, as they have promised, it is very
important that they adopt a competition policy in line with the
latest research in economics. I think they need an economist to
head that authority, but the noble Lord, , will be difficult to
replace.
I agree that we need a robust competition regime in the UK. That
is what we have; the CMA has already announced reviews into many
of the practices that the noble Lord highlighted, taking action
against profiteering from some pharmaceutical companies, for
example. We will not hesitate to take further measures if
required.
(LD) [V]
My Lords, on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards I
saw the determination of the noble Lord, , to protect ordinary people
and businesses from abuses of power in the financial sector.
Frankly, if he says that more powers are needed, then more powers
are needed. We currently face the dominance of big tech, rip-offs
related to Covid, and deregulation following Brexit. Will the
Government, instead of being so complacent, urgently implement
his proposed reforms to make sure that the consumer, at the very
least, has a powerful champion with powerful teeth? If not, we
will have a very angry and abused public.
We are taking action on these matters. We asked the CMA to lead
two critical pieces of work: to report on the state of
competition, and to set up the digital markets taskforce. The CMA
remains one of the world-leading competition authorities. If
necessary, we will build on that.
(Con) [V]
Following on from the Furman report, does my noble friend agree
that government regulation around those digital platforms should
be implemented as soon as possible? Can he give any indication
when that might happen?
We accepted the recommendations of the Furman report in the
Budget earlier this year. We are considering what further steps
need to be taken.
(Non-Afl) [V]
My Lords, following on from the noble Lord, Lord Randall, does
the Minister accept that on consumer welfare it is difficult for
us to have confidence in his reassurances? When the Government
announced this digital markets taskforce a few months ago, they
said that
“any future interventions must strike the right balance between
promoting competition and innovation on the one hand and avoiding
disproportionate burdens on business on the other”.
There was no mention of consumer welfare interests. It is
difficult to see how we will make progress on that front, which
is what most people worry about when they think of digital market
abuse.
Consumers are best served by free and open competition,
appropriately regulated, between businesses. The welfare of
consumers is always at the forefront of our thoughts on this.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister rightly says that consumers depend on fair
competition. The outgoing chair has said that the powers of that
competition body are not sufficient. He recommended increased
powers, and the then Government were very responsive. The
Minister has today refused to build on that and say that they
will give it new powers. I ask him again: will the Government
implement the call for new powers and commit themselves to the
absolute independence of the new chair of the CMA?
On that final point, we will of course run a full and open
competition process. We will appoint the best person for the job.
We committed in our manifesto to tackle consumer rip-offs and bad
business practice. Where we need to give the CMA new powers, we
will look at that, but it already has extensive powers, as proven
by the cases it is currently pursuing. It is one of the leading
regulators in the world and, as I said, we will look at giving it
additional powers if necessary.
(LD) [V]
My Lords, the noble Lord, , and Professor Furman have
clearly spelled out the challenges of the digital age. I heard
what the Minister said on this, but do the Government intend to
address these issues or will they continue to allow big tech to
rampage across our economy in digital markets such as social
media, e-commerce, search and online advertising? Will the
Government set out their proposals any time soon?
The regulation of digital e-commerce is extremely important. As I
have said, the CMA has set up the digital markets taskforce to
study these matters, but they are complicated. This country has
one of the best competitive markets in the world and digital
markets are an increasingly important part of that. We will look
at what further measures need to be taken.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, given the unprecedented pressures on consumers from
both Covid-19 and the prospect of leaving EU markets at the end
of the transition period, will the Government prioritise the
CMA’s reforms as set out under its very effective chair, the
noble Lord, ? When will a date be
announced for a new competition and consumer protection Bill, as
suggested by my noble friend ?
I will correct the noble Baroness: we will not leave EU markets
at the end of the transition period. We seek in the negotiations
to ensure continued access to those markets and for EU companies
to have access to UK markets. That is the whole point of the
negotiation. We keep all these matters under constant review. We
will build on the powers of the CMA if that is required for what
consumers need.
(Con) [V]
My Lords, does my noble friend accept that if the Government are
to continue to prioritise consumer protection, they urgently need
to address the necessity of strengthening the CMA and legislation
to protect consumers, as stated across the Chamber today?
At the risk of repeating myself, of course we keep these matters
under constant review. We will see the outcome of the Digital
Markets Taskforce that the CMA is currently involved in and, if
necessary, we will take further action.
The Deputy Speaker ( ) (Non-Afl)
The noble Lord, , is not available, so we
will go straight to the noble Lord, .
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, surely the noble Lord, , standing down is a
devastating indictment of the unwillingness of Tory Ministers to
permit him to do his job properly, as well as the Government’s
subservience to vast vested interests and the immense power of
digital platforms at the expense of customers and competition.
The Covid pandemic means that there will be lots of business
casualties, allowing national and especially local monopolies to
trample over customers. I am sorry, but the Minister is not
coming clean with us; the noble Lord, , is both honourable and
highly capable: will he tell us straight, please, why Ministers
have been so shamefully subservient to tycoons, plutocrats and
dodgy dealers that he, an eminent fellow Tory, has been forced to
resign from a job he wanted to do properly?
Well, characteristically the noble Lord has a great grasp of
hyperbole, but I do not think that he is fairly characterising
the situation here. It is a complicated area of detailed policy.
We have an excellent competition regime in this country, the CMA
is a highly regarded regulator and, as I said, we will consider
giving it additional powers to protect consumer and business
interests if that is required.
