In recent weeks we've heard a lot about the UK government's objective to grow the economy and its fears that regulators are stifling that growth, rather than enhancing it. The CMA has had a change of leadership, and emphasised growth in its Annual Plan.  

Yesterday (13 February), the government published its updated "strategic steer" for the CMA.

It sets out its stall very clearly, stating at the outset that the "primary mission of this government is economic growth". It emphasises that regulators have a key role to play in upholding and promoting the reputation of the UK as a centre for certain, proportionate and transparent regulation and that includes effective consumer and competition law regulation, for which the CMA is primarily responsible.

So what exactly are the government's priorities for the CMA?

1. Using CMA tools proportionately, with growth and investment in mind: the CMA must always properly exercise its statutory functions to promote competition and protect consumers. It should consider prioritising pro-growth and pro-investment interventions, focusing on markets and harms that particularly affect UK-based consumers and businesses and supporting growth and international competitiveness in the Industrial Strategy's eight key sectors. It should also work with overseas regulators and other UK regulators and avoid duplication. It should also act in line with its new duty of expedition. For competition and digital markets, it should make sure that growth and innovation benefits are prioritised, including supporting the government in delivering the AI opportunities action plan. On the consumer side, it should help to grow the economy by promoting consumer trust and confidence, while deterring poor corporate practices. Where possible, the CMA should prioritise the use of tools in areas where competition can play an important role in driving efficiency and an enhanced user experience in the provision of key public services.
2. Minimise uncertainty by engaging with those affected by the CMA's work and report on impact of work: The CMA should provide proactive, transparent, timely, predictable and responsive engagement with businesses.  This includes collaborative approaches to resolving problems. The CMA produce accessible and meaningful guidance as well as being transparent and meeting statutory timeframes. The CMA should support innovation, recognising the key role it plays in driving net zero, public sector reform and economic growth. It should also build its evidence base to demonstrate how competition improves consumer outcomes, encourages innovation, drives investment and ultimately, delivers economic growth across the UK.
3. Engagement with government: the CMA should continue to engage with government on key policy issues to identify where it can support the government's agenda. The government says that it is committed to supporting the CMA to deliver on this steer and implies that it is open to increasing CMA resources. It also says that it will accept CMA recommendations unless there are compelling policy reasons not to do so. 
4. Accountability: the CMA's framework agreement will include relevant reporting requirements as well as requiring regular feedback from CMA stakeholders, including businesses and consumers. This will involve publishing information about CMA decision-making, commercial awareness, transparency and stakeholder engagement.

The consultation ends on 6 March 2025.