The Committee's report examines the work of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) as part of a programme of short inquiries into the non-departmental public bodies associated with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the DTI). A NAO report (HCP 593, session 2005-06; ISBN 0102936161) published in November 2005 highlighted three key areas of concern about the OFT and its approach to its work, focusing on making best use of its resources; improving the management of investigations; and improving the measurement of its achievements and the communication of its work. The Committee commends the OFT for its positive response to address these concerns, and although it is too soon to make a balanced assessment of the results, they are encouraged by the evidence of progress so far. The report also examines issues relating to staffing constraints, the merger referral threshold, the OFT's role in voluntary industry codes of practice, and the OFT's Consumer Direct telephone service.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has improved its operations following recommendations on maintaining competition in markets made by the National Audit Office and Committee of Public Accounts in 2005 and 2006. It now needs to concentrate its efforts on strengthening the skills and experience of its staff at key management grades, and be clearer on how long it expects its investigations will take. The OFT is now directing its work to areas that have the most impact, though this refocus on higher priority cases has led to a perception that the OFT is less interested in smaller markets, with a risk that its deterrent effect will be reduced in these markets. The OFT has taken steps to address this perception, launching investigations into more local markets such as in construction and bus transport. The time taken to process high profile cases has been reduced by introducing better project management and more flexible ways of working, including using bigger teams and temporary legal staff. The OFT has also brought criminal charges in two cartel cases for the first time under the Enterprise Act, one of which to date has resulted in criminal convictions. The OFT recognises that some of its cases are still taking too long. The OFT operates in a competitive labour market and still continues to face challenges in attracting and retaining talented staff. The OFT has provided project management and leadership training to its staff, but it needs to sustain and increase this work in order to continue to recruit and retain staff at key management grades.

Unfair treatment of consumers, ranging from pressure selling to systematic scams by criminals, is costing billions of pounds each year - but the system for enforcing consumer law is not delivering value for money. The overall scale of this so-called 'consumer detriment', particularly that caused by doorstep crime, is not being properly evaluated, leading to the inefficient allocation of resources. Although much detriment occurs at the regional and national level, incentives are weighted against a coordinated approach which goes beyond local areas. While there are no reliable figures, NAO estimates the cost of detriment which cannot be tackled at local level is more than £4.8 billion each year. Central government provides annual funding of £34 million to tackle crime which crosses the borders between local authorities, but this is relatively low compared to the scale of the problem. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills estimates that the annual funding for Trading Standards Services will reduce from £213 million to about £140 million-£170 million by 2014, affecting action to address this problem. The framework for prioritizing and allocating cases, introduced by the Office of Fair Trading, is not being applied as intended. But formal structures for supporting the model are not in place in seven of the eleven regions, and there is still a lack of clarity over who should be taking cases forward. As a result, the OFT has been able to take enforcement action on only two of the 15 cases referred to it in the last two years.

Covers the 12-month period from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010

The third edition of this text is designed to bring the reader up to date with developments in consumer law up to 1999. It includes material on utilities and financial services regulation.

The Office of Fair Trading oversees the regulation of consumer affairs and the enforcement of competition legislation, as well as carrying out research to explore the operation of market practices and develop policy initiatives. This report covers the work of the department during 2001 and contains the department's Service Delivery Agreement and Statement of Purpose which set out the department's key objectives and performance targets.

Competition policy is an integral and prominent part of economic policy-making in the European Union. The EU Treaty prescribes its member states to conduct economic policy ‘in accordance with the principle of an open market economy with free competition’. More precisely, the goal of EU competition policy is “to defend and develop effective competition in the common market” (European Commission, 2000: 7). Under its Commissioners van Miert, Monti and, most - cently, Kroes the EU Commission has stepped up its effort to pursue and achieve the aforementioned goal. A number of so-called hard-core cartels, such as the - torious “vitamin cartel” led by Roche, have been detected, tried in violation of Art. 81 of the Maastricht Accord and punished with severe fines. Also Microsoft was hit hard by the strong hand of the Commission having been severely fined for - ploiting a dominant market position. Economic analysis has been playing an increasingly significant role in the Commission’s examination of competition law cases. This holds true in particular for merger control. Here, however, the Commission has had to accept some poi- ant defeats in court, such as the Court’s reversals of Airtours-First Choice or GE- Honeywell. Among other things, the European Court of Justice found the e- nomic analysis as conducted by the EU’s Directorate General for Competition to be flawed and the conclusions drawn not to be convincing. These rejections by the courts have stirred up the scholarly debate on the conceptual foundations of Eu- pean competition policy.

This report examines how the Post Office closure programme is being implemented and areas where it could be improved. The Network Change Programme began in July 2007 and the final consultation is scheduled to end in October 2008. This challenging timetable has meant that consultation has been curtailed, and the whole process has been rushed. The Committee does not accept that a reduction to 7,500 offices is acceptable, and a minimum of 11,500 fixed outlets is recommended. Post Office Ltd should be clearer in its approach to public consultation about closures. The Committee is also concerned that access criteria - proximity of population to offices, local transport and geographical constraints - have not been fully taken into account, nor the principle of services being fully accessible to all. The process has been improving with more experience, but there is still room for further improvement and clarity.

First published in 1987, this book discusses white-collar or commercial crime which has grown to be a major issue in our society today. Looking at research from North America and Britain, the book explores the way fraudsters are treated. It draws on various disciplines including Economics, Law, Politics, and Sociology in order to show the frequency and impact of different types of fraud. In this book, Dr. Levi introduces the reader to the key areas of debate: What pressures influence the law on fraud? How do state agencies, self-regulatory bodies, or other professionals police fraud? To what extent are money-laundering and international organized crime breaking down the distinction between policing of the underworld and the upperworld? Dr. Levi concludes with an analysis of national and international policy trends in relation to fraud. This book will be of interests to students of criminology, politics, and the sociology of law as well as to practicing lawyers and other professionals in the business sector.