Clause 43 - Power of Secretary of State to
Enterprise Bill
6:00 pm
Miss Melanie Johnson (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry; Welwyn Hatfield, Labour)
We have proposed that the Secretary of State should have the power to refer a case that qualifies for investigation if he or she believes that the merger may operate against the public interest. The result will be that the Secretary of State will refer cases requiring more in-depth consideration to the Competition Commission. The public interest test that the Secretary of State will apply under the new regime will be more limited than that in the Fair Trading Act. The Secretary of State will be limited to taking account of the relevant public interest considerations and any substantial lessening of competition.
The purpose of the clause is to provide discretion for the Secretary of State to refer mergers that might operate against the public interest. The Secretary of State will assess the public interest with regard to the competition issues and the relevant public interest considerations, and will view a substantial lessening of competition as operating against the public interest unless it is outweighed by the benefits of the public interest consideration. The Secretary of State has discretion to refer because that is appropriate. However, he or she must give the reasons for the decision on reference. The OFT has a duty to refer, as it is important to define the role of the relevant body.
To answer the hon. Gentleman's question, the Secretary of State can refer on public interest grounds
where the OFT has said that there are no competition concerns. However, wider issues such as national security must be considered.