The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a review of several existing market remedies to assess their ongoing relevance and effectiveness. This initiative is part of the CMA's efforts to ease the compliance burden on thousands of businesses operating in sectors such as financial services, travel, and energy.

Market remedies are implemented to address competition issues identified during market investigations. While they are crucial for maintaining fair competition, they also require significant resources from businesses to comply. The CMA emphasizes the importance of ensuring that these remedies remain relevant and effective.

Notably, the CMA has excluded certain remedies from this review that continue to provide significant benefits, such as those ensuring families have access to necessary information when selecting funeral services and reforms aimed at helping households and small businesses secure better energy deals.

In total, the CMA has identified 33 market remedies—representing 60% of all current remedies—that may no longer be necessary. These remedies could have been rendered obsolete by new laws, regulations, or technological advancements that have changed consumer purchasing behaviors.

For instance, the CMA is evaluating whether to eliminate outdated marketing practices for large travel businesses that were established over a decade ago, which would help reduce compliance costs. Similarly, major retail banks could benefit from the removal of rules requiring them to provide transaction histories, as customers can now easily access this information online.

Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, stated that while remedies are essential for consumer protection and fair competition, they also impose demands on businesses. The review aims to ensure that only impactful remedies remain in place, aligning with the CMA's commitment to enhancing its processes and efficiency.

A consultation period will run until Monday, 2 March 2026, allowing stakeholders to provide input on the remedies under review. For further details, interested parties can visit the CMA's consultation page. Additionally, the CMA has recently initiated a consultation regarding the release of 37 merger remedies.