# The Competition Act 1998 (Concurrency) Regulations 2014, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations make provision for the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) and the regulators who can exercise functions of the CMA under Part 1 of the Competition Act 1998 (c 41) (“the Act”) concurrently with it to co-ordinate the performance of those functions.
The relevant regulators are listed in section 54(1) of the Act and as at 1st April 2014 are the Office of Communications, the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, the Water Services Regulation Authority, the Office of Rail Regulation, the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation, the Civil Aviation Authority and Monitor.
Regulation 3 provides for a competent person (which means the CMA or any of the regulators) to circulate information for the purposes of determining which of their number may exercise Part 1 functions (as defined in regulation 2) in relation to a case or for the purpose of facilitating the performance by another competent person of its Part 1 functions.
Regulation 4 sets out the steps that must be taken before a competent person exercises prescribed functions (as defined in regulation 2) in relation to a case.
Regulation 5 provides the procedure for determining which competent person is to exercise Part 1 functions in a particular case when agreement has not been reached on this issue in accordance with regulation 4 and provides that the CMA may only determine that a competent person other than Monitor is to exercise Part 1 functions in relation to the case if the CMA is satisfied that the case is not principally concerned with matters relating to the provision of health care services for the purposes of the NHS in England.
Regulation 6 makes provision for the circumstances in which the exercise of prescribed functions by a competent person in relation to a case precludes the exercise of Part 1 functions by another competent person.
Regulation 7 makes provision for a competent person who has exercised Part 1 functions in relation to a case to transfer that case to another competent person.
Regulation 8 makes provision for the CMA to determine that it rather than a regulator who has exercised Part 1 functions in relation to a case is to exercise Part 1 functions in relation to that case and provides that the CMA cannot determine that it rather than Monitor should exercise Part 1 functions in respect of a case unless the CMA is satisfied that the case is not principally concerned with matters relating to the provision of health care services for the purposes of the NHS in England.
Regulation 9 provides for arrangements to be established by competent persons for sharing information in relation to concurrent cases (as defined in section 54(6C) of the Act).
Regulation 10 makes provision for the appointment of an officer of one competent person to act as the officer of another competent person in relation to a case.
Regulation 11 makes provision for the service of notices.
Regulation 12 revokes the Competition Act 1998 (Concurrency) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1077) and makes transitional provision in relation to cases where a competent person is already exercising Part 1 functions.
The impact assessment completed for Parts 3 and 4 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, introduced to Parliament on 23rd May 2012, includes an assessment of the effect that the changes to the concurrency arrangements will have on the costs of business and the public and voluntary sector and can be found at the website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strengthening-competition-and-creating-a-single-market-authority.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/536/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/competition-act-1998-concurrency-regulations-2014/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.