Getting the balance right - the impact of merging the OFT and the Competition Commission

Getting the balance right - the impact of merging the OFT and the Competition Commission Adobe PDF Format

By merging the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition Commission (CC) the Government hopes to speed up the administration of competition law, reduce duplication of effort, achieve more consistent decisions, and save costs.

But, there are also risks associated with the merger - a single competition authority may be more efficient, but we may lose the independence and robustness that a 'second pair of eyes' brings. The overall benefits of an OFT/CC are therefore not clear cut, and, as always, the impact will depend upon the details of the proposals and the safeguards that can be put in place.

The two authority model has served the UK well, but few would argue that the current system could not be made more efficient. An OFT/CC merger is one way of making efficiency savings, particularly through the co-ordination of phase 1 and phase 2 investigations. But, these will need to be carefully weighed against the possible loss of independence that the CC's second pair of eyes brings, and the flexibility that businesses currently enjoy to offer up commitments during the first phase of investigations.