Smarter Regulation and the Regulatory Landscape - Which? response

Which? engages with a broad range of regulators as part of our work on behalf of consumers. Those that we interact with most regularly that are within the scope of this review include the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Ofgem, Ofcom, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).  In addition, we engage with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) from time to time. We also have a lot of contact with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and we have drawn on this experience to inform our response. 

The work that these regulators do is crucial for consumer protection. Arms’ length, independent regulators have a fundamental role in the regulatory landscape, ensuring that markets deliver good consumer outcomes, which are not only important for consumers but also for responsible businesses through the consumer trust and confidence this engenders. 

In general, we consider that the current regulatory landscape is broadly appropriate in terms of regulator responsibilities and their duties. However, we believe there are some regulators that do not act sufficiently in the interests of consumers. This is either because they lack a strong enough consumer focus within their duties or the powers that are available to them to deliver on their duties need to be strengthened. 

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Bill will strengthen some aspects of consumer and competition responsibilities, but this wider review of the regulatory landscape is an opportunity to go further and ensure that regulators are effectively equipped to deal with today’s complex, fast-moving and often cross-border markets.