§ Mr. StinchcombeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if she will recommend to the Office of Fair Trading that it judges the Tesco Adminstore merger on the basis of Tesco's share of the overall grocery market; [160460]
(2)if she will direct the Office of Fair Trading to refer Tesco's proposed acquisition of Adminstore to the Competition Commission on the grounds of public interest considerations of the socio-economic consequences of further consolidation of the grocery market; [160461]
(3)if she will recommend that the Office of Fair Trading refer Tesco's proposed acquisition of Adminstore to the Competition Commission. [160462]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThe independent competition authorities (the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission) are responsible under the Enterprise Act 2002 for decision making in merger cases against a specific competition-focused test. The Office of Fair Trading announced on 5 March that it was not referring to the Competition Commission the anticipated acquisition by Tesco Plc of 45 grocery stores from Adminstore Ltd. It would not have been appropriate for Ministers to try to influence the Office of Fair Trading in carrying out its independent function by seeking to direct it in any aspect of its consideration of this case.
1689WThe Enterprise Act does not allow my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to intervene on existing or new public interest grounds in cases where the OFT has already announced its decision on reference to the Competition Commission.