The Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2011

Made7th February 2011

Laid before Parliament7th February 2011

Coming into force28th February 2011

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 6(2) and (7) of the Competition Act 19981 (“the Act”), makes the following Order:

In July 2010, in accordance with section 8(1) and (4) of the Act, the Office of Fair Trading (“the OFT”) published details of its proposed recommendation to the Secretary of State that the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 20012 be amended. The OFT considered the representations which were made to it and, in accordance with section 8(3) of the Act, has recommended that the Secretary of State vary that Order.

Citation and commencement1.

This Order may be cited as the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2011 and shall come into force on 28th February 2011.

Amendment of the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 20012.

(1)

The Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 2001 is amended as follows.

(2)

In article 2, for “at the end of the period of ten years commencing on 1st March 2001.” substitute “at the end of the period of fifteen years commencing on 1st March 2001.”.

Edward Davey

Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

7th February 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) Order 2001 (“the 2001 Order”). The 2001 Order is a block exemption order under section 6 of the Competition Act 1998 (“the Act”), which gives effect to the OFT’s recommendation that public transport ticketing schemes (as defined in the 2001 Order) for local transport services constitute a category of agreements which are likely to be agreements to which section 9(1) of the Act applies. Agreements which fall within the category specified in the 2001 Order are exempt from the prohibition in Chapter 1 of the Act.

The 2001 Order (as amended by the Competition Act 1998 (Public Transport Ticketing Schemes Block Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2005) would cease to have effect at the end of the period of ten years from 1st March 2001 and this Order extends the period of the 2001 Order to fifteen years commencing on the same date.

Guidance on the block exemption is available from the OFT at www.oft.gov.uk. A full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET and at www.bis.gov.uk and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.