Clause 55 - Duties of OFT and Commission
Enterprise Bill
6:15 pm
Mr Jonathan Djanogly (Huntingdon, Conservative)
Clause 55 provides that the OFT and the commission should inform the Secretary of State if the so-called ''specified'' considerations apply, in which case subsection (2) comes into play and the Secretary of State becomes responsible for making decisions. That being so, it cannot be right, under subsection (1), that the OFT should decide whether any such consideration is immaterial. Surely, the decision should be made by the Secretary of State. If not, the Secretary of State should be able to review the OFT's decision. Under clause 55, the OFT is effectively being given the right to decide whether considerations are material. However, in the circumstances dealt with by the clause, that seems inappropriate.