The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is reassessing a range of market remedies to determine whether they remain necessary, aiming to reduce the regulatory load on businesses across sectors including travel, finance, and energy.
Market remedies are measures introduced to address competition concerns identified during investigations. While they are important for protecting consumers, they can also impose ongoing costs and administrative requirements on companies. The CMA’s review seeks to ensure that only remedies still delivering tangible benefits remain in place.
Some protections, such as rules guaranteeing transparency for funeral services and measures helping households and small businesses secure fair energy tariffs, will be retained. However, the authority has flagged 33 remedies—roughly 60% of all active measures—that may have outlived their purpose. These rules could have been overtaken by changes in technology or new regulations that already address the original competition issues.
Examples include marketing restrictions on large travel firms, introduced when in-store bookings were the norm, and obligations on banks to provide payment histories that customers can now access digitally. Removing these outdated requirements could save businesses significant time and money while simplifying compliance.
CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said the review reflects the authority’s commitment to maintaining effective competition measures while avoiding unnecessary burdens. She added that streamlining rules helps reinforce the UK as an attractive environment for business and investment.
The CMA has opened a consultation on the proposed changes, running until 2 March 2026, inviting businesses and other stakeholders to provide feedback. The regulator has also recently launched a separate consultation on merger remedies, continuing its wider effort to make competition enforcement more efficient and proportionate.