Ms Clare McNamara:

Yes, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, has evidence that bid-rigging is happening, particularly in public procurement. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, has been asking for bid-rigging to be made a specific offence in law for quite some time. It made a submission to us and to the Hamilton review group. As it turns out, at the same time as we were considering putting it into this Bill, the Hamilton review group report said it needed to be made a specific offence.

It is important to note cartel behaviour is criminal behaviour. Bid-rigging is a form of cartel behaviour. It is where firms bid in a procurement process but agree among themselves which firm submits the most advantageous tender. This enables them to attract a higher price because the bidders that agree to lose submit inflated bids or agree not to bid at all which in its own way is also bid-rigging.

It is taken very seriously. The CCPC's experience is that because it is not treated as a separate offence, for example when it comes to taking court cases, the practice is to regard it as a form of price fixing or market sharing. It was considered in some court cases to go beyond the existing scope of anti-competitive behaviour because it is not a specific offence. That is why we are trying to make it clear in this Bill that this is criminal behaviour. It is a specific offence and will be dealt with in that way.