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Five priority areas identified in OFT annual plan

194/04     1 December 2004

Five priority areas have been identified by the OFT as part of its draft annual plan.

Download Annual plan 2005-06 consultation paper (pdf 196 kb).

The draft plan sets out key issues that the OFT will focus on over the next three years. The core activity will continue to be enforcing the law to ensure vigorous and open competition and to eliminate unfair trading practices. This will be combined with market studies and communication activities to explain to businesses and consumers their rights and responsibilities.

Five areas are highlighted for particular attention:

• credit markets
• construction and housing markets, including services related to them such as estate agency
• healthcare markets
• interaction between government and markets, e.g. through public procurement, regulation and public sector bodies competing with the private sector
• mass-marketed scams.

John Vickers, OFT Chairman, said:

'Our draft annual plan sets out how the OFT intends to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness, building on experience gained under new law. Our responsibilities, and hence our work to make markets work better, will be economy-wide, but we have for the first time signalled the priority areas in which we plan to make the most positive difference.'

The draft plan is now open for consultation. The OFT is particularly interested in views on how priorities have been selected; what the OFT can do to better inform and educate businesses and consumers; the best means of selecting new market studies; and how the OFT can best monitor its performance.

Responses to the consultation should be sent to Jonathan Dinmore (jonathan.dinmore@oft.gsi.gov.uk) by 31 January 2005. The OFT will be holding open meetings in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London to discuss the draft Annual Plan. Details of where and when the meetings will be held will be posted on the OFT's website shortly.

NOTES

1. Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the OFT is required to produce an annual plan setting out its main priorities and objectives for the financial year ahead. The final plan will be published by 31 March 2005.

2. The plan looks forward over the three years from April 2005. In this period the OFT expects to make demonstrable progress on the following objectives:

• consumers judge that markets deliver more and better choices in terms of goods and services
• consumers and businesses judge that market abuses have been addressed
• businesses judge that barriers to fair and open competition are being addressed
• consumers and businesses have a better understanding of their rights and obligations under competition and consumer protection law
• stakeholders judge that we operate in accordance with our values.

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