CMA's Proposed Plan of Work 2025/26

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Draft Annual Plan for 2025/26, outlining the CMA’s key priorities and actions for the next 12 months and the medium term.

The draft plan comes after the Governments renewed focus and a letter from the Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the UK’s main regulators, including the CMA, inviting them to set out measurable commitments to drive economic growth. The plan takes on board the Government’s renewed focus on growth and attempts to provide an explanation of how the CMA’s work contributes to economic growth, including to safeguard market conditions and acting to promote choice, effective competition and promote a level playing field for markets.

CMA's Annual Plan 2025/26: Key Priorities

Amid a macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape defined by uncertainty, the CMA intends to prioritise key areas of intervention and focus over the next year. We have summarised some of these below:

Upcoming Events on the CMA Timeline:

techUK's Reaction: A Welcome Focus on Growth and Innovation

techUK is pleased to see the CMA’s emphasis on economic growth as a core pillar of its strategy. The commitment to ensuring a level playing field for businesses of all sizes, including innovative start-ups and scale-ups, is a crucial step in maintaining the UK’s competitiveness. However, the technology sector is calling for a more detailed articulation of how the CMA intends to implement its strategy in practice. The CMA’s newly granted powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) provide significant tools to regulate competition in digital markets, but their execution must be proportionate and transparent.

Addressing Concerns: Proportionality, Predictability, and Process and Pace

A key concern raised by techUK is ensuring that regulatory interventions from the CMA should not create an environment perceived as hostile to business investment.

This is why we welcome the CMA’s commitment to review is mergers & remedies and outreach series for investors and startups, with a particular focus on mergers. The CMA must strike a balance between preventing anti-competitive behaviour and allowing legitimate business growth through mergers and acquisitions.

Ensuring a Business-Friendly Approach to Emerging Technologies

One notable gap in the CMA’s plan is a clear framework for addressing emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and foundation models. techUK encourages the CMA to provide an update on its programme of work in this area and to adopt a collaborative approach that supports innovation while mitigating potential risks.

What's next?

The CMA expects to release the final version of its plan by the end of March 2025. As the CMA finalises its Annual Plan for 2025/26, techUK urges the regulator to continue engaging with industry stakeholders, refining its approach to enforcement, and ensuring that its interventions align with the UK’s broader economic strategy. By doing so, the CMA can help foster a regulatory environment that promotes innovation, attracts investment, and ultimately benefits consumers and businesses alike.

techUK has recently joined the CMA’s Growth & Investment Council and is committed to working alongside regulators to develop policies that support both competition and economic growth. You can read the full response here.

techUK's Policy and Public Affairs Programme activities

techUK helps our members understand, engage and influence the development of digital and tech policy in the UK and beyond. We support our members to understand some of the most complex and thorny policy questions that confront our sector. Visit the programme page here.