Clause 43 - Power of Secretary of State to
Enterprise Bill
6:00 pm
Mr Andrew Lansley (South Cambridgeshire, Conservative)
I do not wish to detain the Committee, but I want to be sure that I understand the purpose of the clause accurately. I would be grateful for the Under-Secretary's confirmation, as the clause seems to be designed to allow the Secretary of State to refer a merger situation to the Competition Commission after having made an intervention notice, whether or not the OFT has determined that there is a substantial lessening of competition. Further, under clause 42, the OFT will have provided advice and recommendations in relation to a public interest consideration raised by the Secretary of State under the intervention notice. The implication in clause 43—although it is not set out in detail—is that the Secretary of State will be able to make a reference to the Competition Commission whether or not the OFT has decided that that public interest consideration is well founded and should give rise to a reference.
In effect, if I understand the provision accurately, the Secretary of State is proposing to be able to ignore the OFT. The Competition Commission will be able to make a determination and the Secretary of State cannot sustain an intervention notice unless it is approved by Parliament. That further heightens the fact that, having issued an intervention notice, the Secretary of State can cause the Competition Commission to undertake a reference—with all that that entails—even though the intervention notice has not been discussed by Parliament and even though the public interest raised by the intervention notice may have led the OFT to say both that there may be no case for a reference to the Competition Commission, and that there is no substantial lessening of competition. So, the Under-Secretary wants an all-embracing power. I should be happy to see that confirmed in terms.