The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)
I am today announcing that I have launched a consultation on a draft ministerial statement of strategic priorities for the soon-to-be-created Competition and Markets Authority and a first tranche of draft Statutory Instruments updating the competition regime. This follows the Chancellor’s announcement in the spending review last month that the budget of the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be increased by £16 million in 2015-16, to enable it to tackle cartels more effectively and open-up markets to new entrants, disruptive technologies and greater investment. These are major steps in our reform of the competition regime, which should deliver significant economic benefits.
I have also made a decision on the appointments of the first team of non-executive director (NEDs) members to the CMA, and I am delighted to announce the following appointments. Five NED positions will go to Annetje Ottow, William (Bill) Kovacic, Philip Lowe, Carolyn Fairbairn and Alan Giles; and the two panel NED positions will go to Roger Witcomb and Jill May. I am also appointing Roger Witcomb as the chairman of the CMA panel.
All the NED appointees will formally commence their appointments on 1 October 2013 when the CMA is legally established. I have agreed to the ordinary NEDs’ term end dates being staggered from between two and five years in order to avoid recruiting a whole new set of NEDs at the same time. The skills and backgrounds of appointees have been taken into consideration when offering their end date to mitigate against losing members who share the same area of expertise (e.g. competition law or economics) in the same year. The appointments for both Roger Witcomb and Jill May are on the basis of an initial two-year term.
The ordinary NED appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments code of practice (April 2012) and the panel NED appointments were made following the principles of the code.
I have placed copies of the consultations and further details of the appointments in the Libraries of both Houses.