Procedural complaints: raising procedural issues in CMA cases
Role, scope, process and how to apply for a review of a procedural decision.
Introduction
If you are a party involved in one of the CMA’s Competition Act, market or merger cases, the CMA’s Procedural Officer provides a way in which you can raise procedural issues that you have not been able to resolve with the CMA Group or staff member responsible for the investigation. Similarly, if you are involved in one of the CMA’s digital market competition regime cases or direct consumer enforcement cases, please see below for information on the role, scope and process for raising a procedural complaint with an adjudicator independent of the relevant CMA investigation (the ‘Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’).
The procedural issues that you can raise with the Procedural Officer or Procedural Complaints Adjudicator (as appropriate) vary depending on the type of case.
The Procedural Officer and Procedural Complaints Adjudicator are independent from the relevant CMA investigations, case teams and decision makers. Their role is intended to ensure that procedural issues can be addressed quickly, efficiently and cost effectively
The Procedural Officer also chairs oral hearings with parties in Competition Act investigations.
In direct consumer enforcement cases the oral hearing will be chaired by a CMA member of staff who, other than acting as chairperson or considering a procedural complaint, has not been involved as decision maker or in the day-to-day running of the investigation.
Procedural Officer role, scope and process: Competition Act 1998 investigations
Scope
The Procedural Officer determines significant procedural complaints that arise in Competition Act investigations. Significant procedural complaints considered by the Procedural Officer are those relating to:
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deadlines for parties to respond to information requests, submit non-confidential versions of documents or submit written representations on the Statement of Objections, Supplementary Statement of Objections or any Draft Penalty Statement
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requests for confidentiality redactions of information in documents on the CMA’s case file, in the Statement of Objections, in a Draft Penalty Statement or in the final decision
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requests for disclosure or non-disclosure of certain documents on the CMA’s case file
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issues relating to oral hearings, including, for example, with regard to issues such as the date of the hearing
The Procedural Officer is not able to review CMA decisions beyond those listed above, for example decisions on the scope of requests for information or decisions relating to the substance of a case.
Applications to the Procedural Officer
The Procedural Officer becomes involved only at the request of a party to an investigation and only after the party has been unable to resolve the issue with the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) of the investigation. A party wishing to refer an issue to the Procedural Officer needs to make an application as soon as possible after being notified of the SRO’s decision on the issue in question and, in any event, within five working days of that notification.
The application should be no longer than five sides of A4 paper and should include:
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the name and contact details of the applicant
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the name and contact details of lawyers acting for the applicant (where appropriate)
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the CMA case name and reference number
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the date of the determination of the issue by the SRO responsible for the investigation
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a short summary of the issue in question, including a summary of the case team’s original decision (where relevant), the decision of the SRO responsible for the investigation, the reason that the applicant is applying for a review of that decision and the outcome that the applicant is seeking
The applicant must also provide copies of relevant correspondence between the applicant and the CMA relating to the issue in question and copies of any relevant information or documents where these are in the applicant’s possession. If the applicant has concerns about providing a copy of such information or documents to the Procedural Officer, they should raise these concerns with the Procedural Officer before submitting the application.
On receipt of an application, the Procedural Officer will provide an opportunity for each of the case team and the party to present their arguments orally on the telephone or at a meeting, before issuing a decision on the issue.
The Procedural Officer’s decisions in Competition Act investigations
The Procedural Officer will deal with the application as quickly as possible. There is an indicative administrative target that decisions will be taken in most cases within 10 working days from receipt of the application. The Procedural Officer will reach a decision within 20 working days from receipt of the application. This timeframe is extendable by no more than 20 working days if there are special reasons to do so.
The Procedural Officer’s decision will be binding on the CMA case team. The Procedural Officer’s decision, or a summary of it, will be published on the CMA’s webpages, generally at the time the decision is made by the Procedural Officer or at the end of the CMA’s investigation. Publication will be subject to redaction of confidential information.
Published Procedural Officer decisions in Competition Act investigations:
- (13.3.23)
- (11.3.21)
- (25.4.22)
- (31.12.20)
- (30.9.20)
- (16.9.19)
- (21.8.19)
- (21.8.19)
- (19.12.18)
- (19.12.18)
- (1.11.18)
- (26.9.17)
- (16.12.16)
- (7.12.16)
- (7.12.16)
More information
You can find more information on the Procedural Officer’s role and procedures in Competition Act investigations in:
Guidance on the CMA’s investigation procedures in Competition Act 1998 case
Competition Act 1998 (Competition and Markets Authority’s Rules) Order 2014
Transparency and disclosure: Statement of the CMA’s policy and approach
Procedural Officer role, scope and process: Merger and market cases
Scope
The Procedural Officer provides a mechanism for handling disputes relating specifically to the confidentiality of information that the CMA proposes to publish in mergers and markets cases. This comprises information relating to a party which the CMA proposes to include:
- in its published Phase 1 merger decisions, or
- in its decisions, reports or other documents published in the course of market studies and Phase 2 merger or market investigations.
Process
A party may make representations to the Procedural Officer if it has been unable to resolve the concern with:
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the CMA staff member with overall responsibility for the conduct of the investigation in Phase 1 merger investigations and market studies, or
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the Inquiry Group in Phase 2 merger investigations and market investigation references
The procedure followed by the Procedural Officer is flexible and will be tailored to the nature of the issue which has been raised. It will also reflect any specific timing constraints to which the CMA’s investigation is subject, such as relevant deadlines for publication. Where practicable, the Procedural Officer will provide an opportunity for each of the case team and the party to speak to the Procedural Officer about the application, either on the telephone or at a meeting.
Having considered the parties’ views, the Procedural Officer advises the relevant decision maker in the investigation: that is, the responsible CMA staff member in Phase 1 merger investigations and market studies, or the Inquiry Group in Phase 2 merger investigations or market investigation references. The relevant decision maker will have all due regard to the Procedural Officer’s advice, but the final decision remains theirs.
More information
You can find more information on the Procedural Officer’s role and procedures in merger and market cases in:
Mergers: Guidance on the CMA’s jurisdiction and procedure
Transparency and disclosure: Statement of the CMA’s policy and approach
Procedural Officer role, scope and process: Office of the Internal Market
In the event that a relevant national authority or affected stakeholder wishes to make a complaint to the OIM about the publication (or proposed publication) of confidential information, they should in the first instance raise the matter with the most senior CMA contact in the matter at hand or the OIM Panel, depending on whose decision the complaint relates to.
If the complaint is not resolved, it will be escalated to the CMA’s Procedural Officer who will consider the complainant’s representations.
The Procedural Officer will provide advice to the OIM Panel or relevant CMA staff member as to how to resolve the complaint. The OIM Panel or staff member will have all due regard to that advice, but the final decision will remain theirs.
The process for involving the Procedural Officer, and which the Procedural Officer will follow, will mirror that described in relation to the CMA’s mergers and markets cases, as set out above.
You can find more information on the Procedural Officer’s role and procedures in OIM projects and reports at: OIM Code of Conduct
How to involve the Procedural Officer
If you wish to apply to the Procedural Officer, you should make an application by email to [email protected] with a hard copy also sent by post to:
Frances Barr
Procedural Officer
Competition and Markets Authority
The Cabot
25 Cabot Square
London
E14 4QZ
United Kingdom
The process to be followed in relation to each application will be indicated when the application is acknowledged.
If there is any reason why the Procedural Officer is unable personally to consider the application, the applicant will be informed of any alternative arrangements put in place when the application is acknowledged.
The Procedural Officer
The CMA has appointed Frances Barr as Procedural Officer from 1 April 2014. Prior to joining the CMA, Frances was the General Counsel at the Office of Fair Trading. Previously she held a variety of legal, policy and project delivery roles at the OFT and worked on secondments at the Competition Commission and at the Department of Trade and Industry. Frances began her legal career in private practice at Slaughter and May, where she worked in London and Brussels.
Procedural Complaints Adjudicator role, scope and process: Digital Markets Competition Regime Cases
Scope
Certain complaints regarding significant procedural issues that arise in relation to the digital markets competition regime set out in Part 1 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (‘DMCC Act’) may – if they cannot be resolved with the CMA staff member with overall responsibility for the conduct of the relevant investigation – be referred by a party to an adjudicator independent of the investigation (the ‘Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’).
In relation to investigations into suspected breaches of a competition requirement or investigative requirement under the DMCC Act – significant procedural complaints can be referred to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator where those relate to:
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deadlines for parties to respond to information requests, submit non-confidential versions of documents or submit written representations to the CMA
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decisions in relation to confidentiality redactions of information in documents that the CMA proposes to publish
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requests for disclosure or non-disclosure of certain documents on the CMA’s case file
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issues relating to the making of oral representations
For all other aspects of the digital markets competition regime (for example, SMS investigations, PCI investigations or the imposition of conduct requirements), the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will consider disputes relating to the confidentiality of information that the CMA proposes to publish when fulfilling its obligations under the DMCC Act.
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator is not able to review CMA decisions beyond those listed above, for example decisions on the scope of requests for information or decisions relating to the substance of a digital markets competition regime case.
Applications to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator
A party may make representations to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator if it has been unable to first resolve the concern with the CMA staff member with overall responsibility for the conduct of the relevant investigation. Where the complaint is not resolved through that process, the party may refer the complaint to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator. An application must be made as soon as possible after the party is notified of the relevant CMA case team’s final decision on the issue in question and, in any event, within five working days of that notification or by such other deadline as may be indicated by the CMA.
The complaint must be made in writing, should be no more than five sides of A4 paper and should include:
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the name and contact details of the applicant, including any lawyers
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acting on their behalf
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a short summary of the issue in question
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a summary of the CMA team’s original decision
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the reason that the complainant is applying for a review of that decision
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the outcome that the complainant is seeking
The complainant should also provide copies of relevant correspondence between the complainant and the CMA team relating to the issue in question.
After an application for review is made, a Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will be allocated to consider the matter. The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will be a senior member of CMA staff who has not been otherwise involved in the matter and who is independent from the relevant CMA case team and decision maker. The procedure followed by the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will be tailored to the nature of the issue which has been raised. Where practicable, the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will provide an opportunity for each of the case team and the party to speak to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator about the application, either on the telephone or at a meeting. It will also reflect any specific relevant timing constraints to which the CMA’s investigation is subject. The identity of the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator and full details of the process and relevant timings will be communicated to the party upon its application being received.
You can find more information on the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s role and procedures at: Digital markets competition regime guidance
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s decisions
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will deal with the complaint as quickly as possible, and will normally seek to make a decision in no more than 10 working days from receipt of the complaint.
For disputes relating to investigations into suspected breaches of a competition requirement or an investigative requirement, the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s decision will be binding on the CMA decision maker and case team.
For disputes on other digital markets competition regime investigations falling with the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s remit the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will advise the relevant CMA decision maker, having considered the party’s representations. That decision maker will have all due regard to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s advice, but the final decision remains with them.
How to involve the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator
If you wish to apply to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator, you should make an application by email to [email protected] . The identity of the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator that will consider your application will be confirmed when the application is acknowledged.
Procedural Complaints Adjudicator role, scope and process: Direct consumer enforcement cases
Scope
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator determines complaints regarding significant procedural issues (as per Rule 6 of the CMA Consumer Rules (CMA201)) that arise in direct consumer enforcement cases under Chapter 4 of Part 3 of the DMCC Act 2024. Significant procedural issues considered by the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will include:
- decisions regarding the disclosure of information over which claims of confidentiality have been made
- the period provided by the CMA to:
- respond to an information notice
- respond to a provisional infringement notice (PIN)
- attend an oral hearing to make representations in relation to a PIN
The same process for referring a complaint in respect of a significant procedural issue as set out above will be open to parties to an administrative enforcement action taken by the CMA.
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator does not have jurisdiction to review decisions on the scope of requests for information or other decisions relating to the substance of a case.
Applications to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator becomes engaged only at the request of an applicant who is involved in an investigation and only after the applicant has been unable to resolve the issue with the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) of the investigation (or the final decision group (FDG) if appropriate). An applicant wishing to refer an issue to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator needs to make a request as soon as possible after being notified of the SRO or FDG’s decision on the issue in question and, in any event, within five working days of that notification.
The application to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator should be no longer than five sides of A4 paper and should include:
- the name and contact details of the applicant
- the name and contact details of lawyers acting for the applicant (where appropriate)
- the CMA case name and reference number
- the date of the determination of the issue by the SRO or FDG (as appropriate)
- a short summary of the issue in question, including a summary of the case team’s original procedural decision (where relevant), the decision of the SRO (or FDG), the reason that the applicant is applying for a review of that decision and the outcome that the applicant is seeking
The applicant must also provide copies of relevant correspondence between the applicant and the CMA relating to the issue in question and copies of any relevant information or documents where these are in the applicant’s possession.
On receipt of an application, the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will provide an opportunity for each of the case team and the party to present their arguments at a virtual or an in-person meeting, before issuing a decision on the issue.
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s decisions
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator will endeavour to deal with the complaint as quickly as possible and, in any case, within 15 working days from the CMA’s receipt of the application. This timeframe is extendable by no more than 10 working days if the PCA considers there are special reasons to do so.
The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s decision will be binding on the CMA case team. The Procedural Complaints Adjudicator’s decision, or a summary of it, will be published on the CMA’s webpages, generally at the time the decision is made by the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator or at the end of the CMA’s investigation. Publication will be subject to any confidentiality redactions that may be appropriate.
How to involve the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator
If you wish to apply to the Procedural Complaints Adjudicator, you should make an application by email to [email protected].
The process to be followed in relation to each application will be indicated when the application is acknowledged.
Related information
The Office of Fair Trading, one of the CMA’s predecessors, trialed a Procedural Adjudicator role for procedural matters in Competition Act 1998 investigations. More information on the OFT’s trial and copies of the decisions taken by its Procedural Adjudicator can be found at:
This page was amended on 17 June 2025 to reflect changes made to align the CMA’s process for resolving disputes across both phases of its merger and market cases, and to include information on how parties can raise procedural issues arising in matters relating to the CMA’s digital markets competition regime, direct consumer enforcement and Office of the Internal Market functions.
Updates to this page
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Amended to reflect alignment of process across mergers and markets investigation phases and include digital markets, direct consumer enforcement and OIM functions.
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Procedural Officer decision on behalf of Flynn Pharma published
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First published.