BetterCare Group Ltd / North & West Belfast Health & Social Services Trust

No. CA98/09/2003

In its judgment on 1 August 2002, the Competition Commission Appeal Tribunal decided that the North & West Belfast Health & Social Services Trust was engaging in economic activities and, therefore, acting as an undertaking for the purposes of the Competition Act 1998, in running its statutory residential homes and engaging in the contracting out of social care to independent providers. It remitted the BetterCare Group's original complaint, made on 23 November 2000 alleging an abuse of a dominant market position by the North & West Belfast Health & Social Services Trust, to the OFT. 

Following investigation of the BetterCare Group's complaint under the Competition Act 1998, the OFT has found that the Eastern Health and Social Services Board and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety are not undertakings for the purposes of the Competition Act 1998 in setting rates to be paid by Health & Social Services Trusts to the BetterCare Group for the provision of residential and nursing home care services and, in the case of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, setting the budget for statutory homes. It has also found that the North & West Belfast Health & Social Services Trust has not engaged in any abuse for the purposes of the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998.

The OFT has therefore decided to close the case with findings that:

• it has no jurisdiction under the Competition Act 1998 to consider the behaviour of the Eastern Health and Social Services Board and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety since they are not undertakings in this case for the purposes of the Competition Act 1998 
• the North & West Belfast Health & Social Services Trust has not engaged in any abuse and, therefore, has not infringed the Chapter II prohibition of the Competition Act 1998.  

Confidential information (within the meaning of Rule 30(1)(c) of the OFT's Rules and section 244(3) of the Enterprise Act 2002) contained in square brackets is indicated by [C] in the original version of this decision and has been redacted from the published version.

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