Clause 186 - Exercise of powers by authorised person
Enterprise Bill
6:00 pm
Mr Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster, Conservative)
I am slightly concerned about the practical reality. In the early days of the legislation coming into play, it is likely, given the climate of cartel-busting in Europe, that the OFT will be stretched and will have an enormous number of tasks ahead of it. It is possible that as a result it may wish to hive off some of its work to private-practice law firms, for example, which would do some of the basic investigation. Would such an employee be a ''competent person'' for the purposes of the clause, even if he or she were not a public sector official? I should be interested in some guidance on how that will work, given the difficulties that the OFT may face.