19 May 2006
The UK's competition watchdog is falling short on value for money, senior MPs said this week.
A report on the work of the Office of Fair Trading from the influential Public Accounts Committee highlighted a range of shortcomings within the organisation.
Despite being the third highest-rated competition authority in the world, it is not doing enough to boost cost effectiveness, the MPs said. Their May 16 report urges the OFT to select its investigations more carefully, make better use of staff and cut the time it takes to investigate.
The OFT's budget has grown by more than 70% since 2000 and currently stands at £56m as its responsibilities have been extended. The PAC said it needed to 'rouse itself' to show that the extra resources were translating into good value for money.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said that he wanted 'rapid progress' on the areas identified, but noted that the organisation was in a state of flux as it grapples with its new powers. It has already responded to an earlier National Audit Office review by agreeing to cut the average length of investigations by six months.
An OFT spokeswoman said: 'Most of the points raised in the report are old news. The OFT has already addressed most of the key points.'
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