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OFT welcomes Home Office move on investigatory powers

PN 117/03     12 September 2003

The OFT has today welcomed Regulation of Investigatory Powers Orders laid before Parliament by the Home Office which will grant the OFT greater investigatory powers, subject to Parliamentary approval.  

The Orders allow:

• authorised OFT officers access to communications data such as telephone records. The powers do not enable the OFT to obtain details about the content of the calls or other communications, but details of the times, duration and recipients of communications
• authorised officers of the OFT to conduct directed surveillance – essentially the monitoring of people's movements
•  covert human intelligence sources – the use of informants.

The OFT will use the access to communications data powers in the investigation of criminal cartel cases under the Enterprise Act 2002. The directed surveillance and covert human intelligence sources will be used in both criminal and civil cartel cases. Cartels are agreements between businesses, generally made in secret, to set prices, carve up markets, rig bidding processes or place artificial limits on production or supply. They are the most serious form of anti-competitive behaviour in terms of the damage they cause the economy and the cost to customers in higher prices.

As cartels are highly secretive, these powers are important for the OFT to gather strong evidence in order to satisfy a jury and secure a conviction or to take action against a business engaged in a cartel. Access to communications data and surveillance powers could play an important role in gathering this evidence. The OFT will only use these powers when it is necessary and proportionate in order to investigate a cartel.

The OFT will act under these powers only after authorisation by a senior official within the organisation and following the Home Office Codes of Practice. The OFT will be subject to regular inspection by the Interception Commissioner and the Surveillance Commissioner to ensure these powers are used appropriately.

NOTES

1. The OFT is a non-ministerial government department with the aim of making markets work well for consumers. It is responsible for the enforcement of various pieces of consumer and competition legislation. These powers will only be used in the investigation of cartels.

2. These powers will be granted by adding the OFT to the list of bodies covered by the certain sections of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

3. In addition to powers given by these Orders, the Enterprise Act grants the OFT access to intrusive surveillance powers under RIPA in connection with the criminal cartel offence. The OFT Chairman may issue an authorisation for the planting of surveillance devices, subject to the disciplines of RIPA.

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