The Office for the Internal Market (OIM) is part of the CMA. It has been tasked with supporting the effective operation of the UK internal market using its economic and technical expertise, following the UK’s departure from the European Union. It will provide reports to the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and UK Government.

The CMA says that to help fulfil its role, the OIM has created a new digital reporting service through which businesses can share their experience of how the UK internal market is working. For example, this could include issues relating to trading across all four nations, such as if producers from one part of the UK are paying more to meet the product standards in another part of the UK in order to sell there. It could also include difficulties in using certain professional qualifications awarded in one part of the UK in different parts of the UK.

The information provided will contribute to the first “State of the UK Internal Market” report, planned for Spring 2022, as well as providing intelligence for any discretionary reviews that the OIM decides to carry out.

Governments will also be able to seek advice or reports on the impact that rules and requirements are having, or may have, on the internal market. In addition, the OIM will look at changes to the operation of the internal market over time.

In order to deliver useful and relevant reports and advice, the CMA says that the OIM will bring together information and data gathered across the four nations to “become a centre of expertise on the internal market”.

Guidance on the operation of the OIM, setting out how it will carry out its functions in support of the effective operation of the UK internal market, has also been published.

The UK’s internal market system is set out in the UK Internal Market Act 2020. New guidance has also been published to help businesses and enforcement authorities navigate trade between the four nations of the UK and understand the day-to-day functioning of the UK’s internal market system. To read the CMA’s press release launching the OIM in full, click here. To access the guidance on the operation of the OIM, click here. To access the guidance to support the functioning of the UK internal market, click here.