The Competition and Markets Authority has proposed removing or reducing 27 longstanding market remedies after concluding that substantial parts of the legacy rulebook have been overtaken by legislation, technology, or changes in consumer behaviour.
The regulator reviewed 33 remedies, representing around 60% of the CMA market remedies currently in force. Its provisional decision would remove 23 entirely, partially remove four, and retain six in full.
Measures proposed for complete removal include requirements covering the sale of extended warranties on domestic electrical goods, package holidays and tour operators, and the on-air promotion of magazines published or sold by the BBC.
Four remedies affecting retail banking, home credit, private motor insurance, and certain soft drinks would be reduced rather than abolished. The CMA intends to remove elements it considers redundant while keeping provisions that continue to protect consumers or competition.
The six remedies proposed for full retention include requirements covering current account switching, local bus services, two measures relating to liquefied petroleum gas used for domestic heating, and two measures in the soft-drinks market.
Juliette Enser, executive director of enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “Market remedies play an important role in protecting competition and consumers, but they should only remain in place where they are needed.”
Market remedies can remain in force for years after an investigation has identified a competition problem. They may govern business conduct, information supplied to customers, product design, switching arrangements, sales practices, or other features of a market where the regulator concludes that intervention is necessary.
The conditions underpinning those measures can change substantially. New legislation may reproduce part of an older competition requirement, technology can alter how products are bought and compared, and entire distribution models can develop after an original investigation has concluded.
Keeping redundant requirements in place carries a cost. Companies can remain responsible for reporting, disclosure, systems, legal checks, staff procedures, and other compliance work even where the commercial problem that prompted a remedy has diminished. Regulators must also continue monitoring measures that may no longer deliver a proportionate benefit.
Removal is not automatic, however. A remedy that appears old can still be addressing a structural weakness in a market, particularly where customers face high switching costs, poor information, or limited bargaining power. The CMA’s decision to retain six measures and only partly remove another four reflects that distinction.
The retail banking proposals illustrate the point. Competition in current accounts has changed materially since earlier investigations, with digital banking, comparison tools, and switching services altering the market. The CMA nevertheless proposes retaining current account switching protections in full while reducing a separate retail banking remedy.
The review sits within a broader government and regulatory effort to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens while maintaining competition and consumer safeguards. That places greater pressure on regulators to demonstrate that continuing interventions remain proportionate to the problem they are intended to solve.
For affected businesses, the value of removal will depend on the detail of each order or undertaking. A narrow technical obligation can still be embedded in customer communications, compliance systems, product approval processes, or operational controls, meaning its removal may eliminate recurring work across several functions.
The review also gives the CMA an opportunity to redirect resources towards newer competition risks rather than maintaining a growing stock of historical interventions indefinitely. Digital markets, changing business models, and consolidation in several sectors continue to create new demands on competition enforcement.
The proposals remain provisional. Interested parties have until 5pm on 11 September to respond, after which the regulator expects to publish its final decision in autumn 2026.
The consultation will determine whether the balance changes before that decision. As it stands, the CMA is proposing a substantial reduction in the legacy framework while preserving measures where it believes the underlying competition or consumer-protection function remains active.
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