Consumer law | UK Regulatory Outlook February 2025

Government's 'strategic steer' for the CMA includes focus on consumer protection  

The Department for Business and Trade is consulting on a new draft "strategic steer" to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The government will set out its expectations of the consumer protection and competition regulator in supporting and contributing to economic growth – a main focus of the Labour government. Tensions have arisen between the regulator and the government in January, with the government expressing discontent at the regulator's approach and forcing out its chair Marcus Bokkerink.   

The strategic steer, which is non-binding, followed publication by the CMA of its draft annual plan 2025 to 2026, in which the regulator stresses the importance of enforcement of consumer protection laws in achieving investment and economic growth.  

While the government acknowledges this link, saying that the CMA should use its enforcement powers to "grow the economy through promoting consumer trust and confidence, while deterring poor corporate practices", the strategic steer makes clear that it expects the CMA's actions to be "swift, predictable, independent and proportionate". In areas where the CMA has discretion as to how to act, the government wants it to prioritise "pro-growth and pro-investment interventions" and focus on "harms that particularly impact UK-based consumers and businesses". Furthermore, the regulator's actions should be coherent and timely, and it should take a collaborative approach.  

In interacting with businesses, the government expects the CMA to be "proactive, transparent, timely, predictable and responsive" to enable quick and effective engagement with the regulator, including during investigations. The government has also asked the CMA to make its guidance "accessible and meaningful for business" and to be "attuned, and responsive to, feedback from business".     

In addition, the government says that the CMA should keep an eye on the actions of consumer protection agencies internationally and ensure that any parallel regulatory action taken is timely and avoids duplication. 

Overall, the steer puts pressure on the CMA to be proportionate and balanced in its enforcement actions and, as the secretary of state for business and trade said, to make "pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth".  

The consultation on the draft closes on 6 March 2025.  

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