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Written question asked by Lord Tyrie (Non-affiliated) on Wednesday, 28 February 2024, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 13 March 2024. It was answered by Lord Offord of Garvel (Conservative) on Monday, 11 March 2024 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.


Competition and Markets Authority: Disclosure of Information

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, since its creation, how many whistleblowers the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has compensated; how much in aggregate has been paid in compensation; and what reimbursement has the CMA received from the Treasury for compensation payments made.

Answer

The CMA’s informant reward programme is an important tool in uncovering cartel activity. Payments have been made under the informant rewards programme.

The CMA does not provide figures about the levels or numbers of such payments. Given the number of CMA cases, divulging even aggregated payment figures could over time risk allowing the identification of cases having a whistleblower. This could put whistleblowers at risk and undermine the programme as a whole.

Informant reward payments are directly covered by the CMA’s budget.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2860
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Disclosure of information Compensation Competition and Markets Authority
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk