The UK Government publishes its response to the consultation proposing a wide range of far-reaching changes to the competition and consumer protection regimes

On 20 April 2022 the UK government published its response to the consultation launched in July 2021, proposing a wide range of far-reaching changes to the UK competition and consumer protection regimes (see our blog post on the consultation here). Taking into account the feedback received from stakeholders on the various proposals, the government has now decided which of these measures it will take forward. The package of measures, which covers both competition and consumer protection law, will strengthen the CMA’s evidence gathering powers, with higher fines for failure to comply with a range of investigative measures. The current voluntary and non-suspensory merger control regime will be retained, but a new additional jurisdictional threshold will be created in order to capture so-called