Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to respond to the consultation, Regulatory and competition appeals: options for reform, which closed on 11 September 2013.

The Government is still considering some of the complex issues raised in the consultation before fully considering the way forward.

Steps have been taken to address one of the issues raised as part of the consultation. The Government has made provisions in the Consumer Rights Bill to allow for a widened pool of judges to sit as Chairs of the Competition Appeals Tribunal. This reform removes the time limit that judges can remain as Chairs and allows both Scottish judges and judges from the Queen’s Bench to be nominated as Chairs.