Part of Enterprise Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 10:45 am ar 7 Mai 2002.
I am listening carefully to Opposition Members. However, for the many reasons that I have given, they are failing to alarm me. In addition, in respect of monopolies investigations—about which there was a further question—there is no outer limit under the current regime. The Office of Fair Trading, or the Minister making a reference, sets the Commission a deadline for producing its report, which is typically between nine and 15 months. However, nine months is quite unusual and has been given on only a couple of occasions. It is parallel to the provision that will exist for a timetable to be published setting out the new arrangements. Overall, the fact that there has been no outer limit has not led to the inquiries being conducted over a long time.