Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

160 Reports by Director General of Fair Trading. U.K.

(1) The Director must keep the regulating provisions and the Authority’s practices under review.

(2) If at any time the Director considers that—

(a) a regulating provision or practice has a significantly adverse effect on competition, or

(b) two or more regulating provisions or practices taken together, or a particular combination of regulating provisions and practices, have such an effect,

he must make a report to that effect.

(3) If at any time the Director considers that—

(a) a regulating provision or practice does not have a significantly adverse effect on competition, or

(b) two or more regulating provisions or practices taken together, or a particular combination of regulating provisions and practices, do not have any such effect,

he may make a report to that effect.

(4) A report under subsection (2) must include details of the adverse effect on competition.

(5) If the Director makes a report under subsection (2) he must—

(a) send a copy of it to the Treasury, the Competition Commission and the Authority; and

(b) publish it in the way appearing to him to be best calculated to bring it to the attention of the public.

(6) If the Director makes a report under subsection (3)—

(a) he must send a copy of it to the Treasury, the Competition Commission and the Authority; and

(b) he may publish it.

(7) Before publishing a report under this section the Director must, so far as practicable, exclude any matter which relates to the private affairs of a particular individual the publication of which, in the opinion of the Director, would or might seriously and prejudicially affect his interests.

(8) Before publishing such a report the Director must, so far as practicable, exclude any matter which relates to the affairs of a particular body the publication of which, in the opinion of the Director, would or might seriously and prejudicially affect its interests.

(9) Subsections (7) and (8) do not apply in relation to copies of a report which the Director is required to send under subsection (5)(a) or (6)(a).

(10) For the purposes of the law of defamation, absolute privilege attaches to any report of the Director under this section.