The Government has launched a major consultation on potential reforms to the UK’s competition regime.

Whilst framed in terms of ‘refining’ the regime in order to improve its “pace, predictability, proportionality, and process”, the proposals included in the consultation go beyond mere refinement and alliteration and instead represent significant overhauls to the UK’s existing competition regime.

Among the more notable proposals is that Phase 2 merger investigations and market investigations would no longer be led by members of an independent panel, but instead by new sub-committees of the CMA Board. According to the consultation, this would enhance “the Board’s involvement and accountability while safeguarding CMA independence from government in its mergers and decision-making”.

Another proposal likely to attract attention is the reconsideration of the jurisdictional tests of ‘share of supply’ and ‘material influence’ in the context of mergers. According to the Government, the current regime breeds unpredictability by, for example, allowing the CMA to consider “some other criterion, of whatever nature” when determining whether the ‘share of supply’ test has been met. In place of this “open-ended formulation”, the Government proposes a closed list of criteria, as already specified in the Enterprise Act 2002 (namely value, cost, price, quantity, capacity, and the number of workers employed). In a similar vein, the consultation also proposes a closed list of statutory factors when applying the test of ‘material influence’.

Many of the remaining proposals are presented as exercises in simplification and improved efficiency. This includes the introduction of a new ‘single-phase market review tool’ to replace the existing regime of market studies and investigations, which the Government considers too lengthy and inflexible. There are also proposals to allow extensions to Phase 2 merger investigations to facilitate the agreement of remedies, and to require periodic reviews of market remedies.

Finally, the consultation explores granting the CMA additional powers to investigate algorithms as part of its competition and consumer protection functions. These could include, for example, requiring businesses to produce simulated outputs or data, perform specified demonstrations, or alter how digital content is presented to users in order to better understand algorithmic behaviour. The consultation also raises whether the Secretary of State should have a “formal role in a wider range of key CMA guidance documents” such that the CMA would have to seek his approval before publishing “key guidance documents”.

The consultation closes on 31 March 2026, and can be read in full here.