United Kingdom: Department for Business & Trade issued strategic steer to the Competition and Markets Authority

On 15 May 2025, the Department for Business & Trade issued a policy paper providing a strategic steer to the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on promoting economic growth and investment. The steer sets out expectations for how the CMA should exercise its discretionary functions, including competition and consumer protection enforcement, merger control, and market studies. It underscores the importance of proportionate, predictable, and collaborative regulatory action to support innovation, productivity, and the UK’s attractiveness as an investment location. The steer also outlines the CMA’s responsibilities in implementing the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) and encourages coordination with domestic and international regulators. It further requires the CMA to engage transparently with businesses, report on its impact, and provide evidence of its contribution to economic growth, with updates to the CMA’s framework agreement to reflect these priorities.