Clause 20 - Duty to make references in relation to completed mergers
Enterprise Bill
9:30 am
Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon, Conservative)
I back up the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne. It cannot be assumed that the only exclusions that will always be relevant to subsection (1) are those set out in subsection (2). Other situations may be relevant or may become relevant. Whichever way one looks at it, there is always going to be a subjective element in the way in which subsection (2) is interpreted, and therefore other issues could come up. The effect of a merger will always need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, looking at who may be affected and who may be helped by the proposals. That needs to be examined in the context of those issues' relevance to competition as a whole.
The OFT is, of course, going to be forced to make a reference unless subsection (2) comes into effect. As the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) rightly said, that could lead to a waste of taxpayers' money, let alone shareholders' money, through unnecessary advisers' costs. Wider discretion than is currently being suggested should be given. We should also keep in mind that, over the years, different Secretaries of State have interpreted the existing provisions in different ways. I fully support the idea of de-politicising the concept of merger activity. On the other hand, it is not always a political issue because priorities and the way in which things are looked at can change over time. To that extent, I support the amendment, which identifies that and attempts to make the situation more adaptable.