How to engage with our civil engineering market study
How the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expects its market study to take place, and how you can engage with it.
The CMA has launched a study into the design, planning and delivery of railway and public road infrastructure by the civil engineering sector.
We will look at:
- how the market works
- how well it performs for businesses and the public
- how it could work better
We propose to focus on how the public sector and industry can work together to best deliver large and complex infrastructure projects in the future.
We are looking at this market because the infrastructure it delivers is important to the UK economy. If working well, it could boost economic growth.
Read our blog post to find out how we will take a pro-growth and pro-investment approach to this market study.
How the market study will work
Image description: The main stages of our civil engineering market study, as described in the paragraphs below.
Below we outline what you can expect to happen at each stage of the market study, and how you can engage with us. We have included all of the steps we expect to take in this market study.
The dates are included as a guide and may be updated.
We will update this page throughout the market study, and you can subscribe to get emails when we update it (select the button at the top of the page).
Launch: June 2025
We have launched the market study, which we expect to last for 10 months.
Share your views on purpose and scope
We have published a statement of scope (PDF, 372KB), which:
- sets out the purpose and proposed scope of the market study
- provides an overview of the sector and the themes we propose to explore
- outlines our intended approach to evidence-gathering
Send us your views on the purpose and proposed scope of the market study, by responding to the questions in the statement of scope document. The deadline is 17 July 2025.
We have also published a market study notice (PDF, 101KB), which sets out the legal scope of the study.
Hear from a decision-maker
Join one of our webinars to hear more from a senior CMA decision-maker about:
- how our market studies work in practice
- what we will focus on
- how we will engage with you
We will run a webinar:
- on 30 June for industry participants, including contractors, consultants, suppliers, trade associations, and clients in the road and rail infrastructure sectors
- on 1 July for public authorities, including UK government departments, devolved governments, public procurement bodies and other regulators
Register online to book your place:
Intro to our civil engineering market study (for industry stakeholders), 30 June 2025
Intro to our civil engineering market study (for government and public authorities), 1 July 2025
Other ways to engage
If you have specific questions about the market study, email civilengineering@cma.gov.uk. We will aim either to reply by email, set up a call or update our case page with more information.
Evidence gathering and analysis: June to November 2025
We will gather evidence from civil engineering businesses, local authorities, procuring bodies and regulators. This will help us to identify any issues in the market and areas for potential improvement.
We propose to:
- gather information from the main industry stakeholders – we might use our legal powers to request some information formally (we might also invite feedback on the questions we propose to ask)
- send informal questionnaires (like short online surveys) to important market participants
- hold roundtables or meetings with civil engineering businesses, trade associations, public authorities and other stakeholders
- commission qualitative research from third parties, who will engage directly with the industry
- analyse available data on the market, through desk-based research
We will also work closely with the UK government and devolved governments, to understand the legal and policy frameworks.
Consultation on emerging thinking and remedies (if any): December 2025 to February 2026
Interim report
In November, we will publish an interim report to set out our emerging findings.
If needed, this will include any areas for potential recommendation to government and public authorities.
We will consult with businesses, public authorities, UK government, and devolved governments that could be affected. This could be through a public consultation (as part of the interim report) and separate workshops.
By responding to our consultation, you’ll have an opportunity to share your views on our provisional findings and proposed outcomes.
Finishing our evidence gathering
After our interim report, we will think about what more evidence we need to finalise our findings and any potential recommendations.
We might send more requests for information, or meet with more civil engineering businesses, local authorities, procuring bodies and regulators.
Final report: March to April 2026
We will publish our final report that sets out our conclusions about the market, and any remedies such as recommendations to government and public authorities.