The UK government has relaxed the application of UK competition law to certain types of agreements across sectors.

By John D. Colahan and Anuj Ghai

On 21 May 2020, the CMA published a register containing links to each public policy exclusion order and notified agreement related to COVID-19 in the UK. A public policy exclusion order is a legislative tool used by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to relax UK competition law for certain agreements that may normally be considered anti-competitive.

The Secretary of State has made several public policy exclusion orders to enable a coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, for example, the UK government considered it necessary to relax the application of UK competition law to certain types of agreements in the groceries sector, in order to ensure a smooth and efficient supply of food and essential grocery products to isolated and vulnerable consumers.