Transparency data

Case and Policy Committee (CPC) terms of reference

Updated 3 April 2024

Purpose

The purpose of the Case and Policy Committee (CPC) is to guide the development of CMA policy across all delivery tools, and to provide oversight of cases and projects, ensuring consistency of approach and offering advice on high level legal, economic or policy issues as they arise. The CPC may also contribute to discussions concerning strategic policy, guidance and thematic issues, as required.

Status

The Case and Policy Committee is authorised to take decisions in relation to ongoing policies, cases and projects as appropriate under delegated authority from the Board.

Terms of reference

The Case and Policy Committee’s terms of reference are to ensure the CMA has appropriate policies, procedures and practices in place, that they are reflected in CMA guidance (internal and external) and that they are adhered to by case and project teams. The CPC will also provide advice on high level issues arising from cases and projects, and to ensure the consistent application of CMA policy. Specifically, the Case and Policy Committee will focus on:

• policy: ensuring the CMA has appropriate, robust policies, procedures and practices

• guidance: maintaining and developing substantive and procedural guidance

• cases and projects: advising teams on legal, economic or policy issues arising from individual cases and projects, offering steers on approach, difficult decisions and evaluation as appropriate (see further detail at paragraph 4 for the approach to cases and projects relating to the Competition Act 1998 and paragraph 5 for the approach to considering remedies under Parts 3 and 4 of the Enterprise Act 2002)

• consistency: promoting consistency of the CMA approach and application of policy across all cases, projects and tools; ensuring that the lessons learnt from cases and projects are captured and appropriately disseminated, and reflected in policies and guidance where appropriate

• remedies, commitments and undertakings: developing policies taking account of lessons learnt; responding to requests for advice from case teams on issues not addressed by existing policy or guidance; overseeing a rolling programme of research and evaluation into past remedies and ongoing experience in other jurisdictions; taking decisions on the variation and termination of final undertakings and orders; and establishing Remedy Groups where the CMA has taken a decision to undertake a review of final undertakings or a final order; where the CMA has to take a decision in relation to the implementation of a final remedies order or final undertakings

In relation to cases and projects relating to the Competition Act 1998, the Case and Policy Committee will:

a. appoint and authorise Case Decision Groups to take decisions on Competition Act 1998 investigations, including infringement, no grounds for action and penalty decisions (and/or such other decisions for which the Case Decision Group is responsible under the CMA’s procedural guidance in force at that time).

b. consider proposed decisions of a Case Decision Group, and the relevant views of the Chief Economic Adviser and/or Deputy Chief Economic Adviser, General Counsel and/or Deputy General Counsel and Procedural Officer on that proposed decision. As appropriate and in light of the Case Decision Group’s factual analysis and conclusions, the Case and Policy committee will provide advice and recommendations on any policy, legal or economic issues the Case Decision Group should consider further before finalising its decision.

c. consider, and as appropriate grant, requests for approval for certain proposed decisions of senior officials on the use of commitments or settlements in Competition Act 1998 investigations, including prior approval to enter into discussions in a specific investigation that may lead to such decisions and, subsequently, to enter into commitments or settlement offered by the party(ies).

d. be responsible for adopting the proposed decisions of senior officials on settlement made under an approval granted under paragraph (c) above.

In relation to Remedy Groups:

a. The Chair of the Panel shall appoint the members of a Remedy Group.  A Remedy Group shall comprise at least 3 members, all of whom should be Panel members. Members may be appointed to more than one Remedy Group at any one time.

b. The Chair of a Remedy Group shall be the Chair of the Panel or a person nominated by the Chair of the Panel.

c. A quorum shall be two.

d. The minutes of a Remedy Group shall be circulated to the Case and Policy Committee.

e. Each Remedy Group shall remain accountable to the CMA Board for its work and its decision on the case.

CPC may also appoint Litigation Decision Groups to take decisions in relation to litigation matters, as it sees fit.   All other decisions on litigation will ultimately be a matter for the General Counsel and/or Deputy General Counsel, although the decisions may be discussed by CPC.

The Case and Policy Committee may establish sub-committees or steering/delivery groups reporting to it. The Case and Policy Committee shall remain accountable to the Board for the work of any sub-committee or steering/delivery group it establishes (except for decisions by a Remedy Group, which shall be accountable to the Board for its work) ^{[footnote 1]}.

The Case and Policy Committee is authorised to consider or decide matters referred to it by the Subsidy Advice Unit where the Subsidy Advice Unit considers that such matters have implications for the CMA beyond its subsidy control functions or (whether or not in connection to its subsidy control functions) are of material strategic or reputational significance for the CMA.

The Case and Policy Committee may review and approve papers for submission to the Board in relation to matters under its consideration, as appropriate.

Membership

The Case and Policy Committee shall comprise:

• Chief Executive Officer (Chair)

• All Executive Directors of the Board

• General Counsel

• Deputy General Counsel

• Chief Economic Adviser

• Deputy Chief Economic Adviser

• Interim Executive Director for Consumer Protection and Markets

• Interim Executive Director for Competition Enforcement

• Senior Legal Director, Policy & International

• Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer

• Senior Director, Advocacy and External Affairs

• 1 x Panel Member

The Director of Executive Office and Performance will also attend meetings in an advisory capacity.

The Chair of the Case and Policy Committee shall be the Chief Executive or in their absence another member of the Executive Committee who also sits on the Case and Policy Committee.

One Panel member will be appointed to the Case and Policy Committee by the Chair of the Case and Policy Committee, in consultation with the Chair of the CMA and the Chair of the Panel.

A quorum shall be 4 and must include an Executive Member of the Board.

Meetings

The Case and Policy Committee shall meet as required, at least 6 times each year.

A forward programme of scheduled meetings will be established which will be supplemented, as necessary, with meetings convened with the agreement of the Chair of the Case and Policy Committee. The Case and Policy Committee may take decisions offline as appropriate, as agreed by the Chair of the Case and Policy Committee.

Members of the Case and Policy Committee are expected to attend meetings wherever possible. However, in consultation with the Chair of the Case and Policy Committee, members may authorise an appropriate colleague to represent them if they are unable to attend a meeting ^{[footnote 2]}. As set out in paragraph 10 there are certain positions where this is required.

Participation will usually be in person, but, as agreed by the Chair of the Case and Policy Committee, a person may participate by telephone or videoconferencing facility and be deemed to be present and constitute part of the Committee for that meeting. Any member of the Case and Policy Committee who is not present or who leaves a meeting prior to the conclusion of a meeting shall be taken to be a non-participating member for the purpose of a decision taken after the time of departure.

Only the persons appointed to the Case and Policy Committee (or their representatives authorised to represent them) may vote. All CPC members (or their representatives authorised to represent them) will seek to make decisions by consensus. In the event of a failure to reach consensus, the CPC Chair will make the decision, having regard to the views of CPC members.

The Case and Policy Committee may invite any employee of the CMA or any other person to attend all or part of a Case and Policy Committee meeting. There shall be a standing invitation to all Senior Directors to attend Case and Policy Committee meetings.

Reporting

Minutes from the Case and Policy Committee shall be circulated to the Board.

Conflicts of interest

Members of CPC will:

• have regard to the CMA’s policy on conflicts of interest

• review before each meeting whether there are any interests which may conflict with their duties as members of CPC and, if so, disclose them to the Secretariat and, where appropriate, the CMA Compliance Officer

• be asked by the Chair of CPC at each meeting to confirm they have carried out such a review and made such disclosure

• not participate in any activity of CPC in relation to which they believe they have a conflict or possible conflict of interest without the consent of the Chair of CPC

Version control

These terms of reference were last updated in February 2024 (version 6) and should be reviewed and updated every 2 years.

1. A Remedy Group is established by the Case and Policy Committee for the purpose of deciding whether to vary, supersede or release final undertakings, to vary or revoke final orders, or to deal with the implementation of a final remedies order or final undertakings for which it is accountable directly to the Board. ↩

2. Executive Director members, will, wherever possible, authorise a Senior Director from their directorate to represent them. ↩