When the UK’s competition agency, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), was established in 2014 as an independent non-ministerial government department, the UK government’s “steer” was introduced as a non-binding ministerial statement of strategic priorities for the CMA. It was intended to provide a transparent statement of how the government saw the competition regime fitting within its broader economic priorities. The CMA was and is expected to have regard to the steer, but it retains full independence in how it approaches its work.

Achieving economic growth has always been central to the UK government’s mission. This was as true in 2014 as it is now. But there are some important differences between now and then. In 2014, the government’s steer saw the “central task of the CMA […] to ensure that the forces of competition are fully harnessed to support the return to strong and sustained growth.” By contrast, the government’s 2025 steer encourages the CMA “to ensure that businesses receive a ‘best in class’ experience.” 

This suggests that the government wants to encourage greater investment into the UK from businesses and investors and expects the CMA to support this mission.

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