The Competition Act 1998 (Solent Maritime Crossings) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020
| Year | 2020 |
2020 No. 370
Competition
The Competition Act 1998 (Solent Maritime Crossings) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020
Made 27th March 2020
Laid before Parliament 27th March 2020
Coming into force in accordance with article 1
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 71(3) of, and paragraph 7(1), (2) and (3) of Schedule 3 to, the Competition Act 19981, makes the following Order.
The Secretary of State is satisfied that there are exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy why the prohibition contained in Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 ought not to apply to, or ought to be deemed never to have applied in relation to, agreements of the descriptions specified in this Order.
Citation and commencement
1. This order may be cited as the Competition Act 1998 (Solent Maritime Crossings) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020 and comes into force on the day after the day on which it is laid before Parliament.
Interpretation
2. In this Order—
“coronavirus” means severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2);
“the crossings disruption period” means the period commencing on 16th March 2020 and ending on the date specified in the notice published by the Secretary of State in accordance with article 5(1) as the date on which the crossings disruption period is to end;
“facilities” includes premises, moorings and marine equipment;
“qualifying activities” has the meaning given in article 3;
“Solent crossing” means a maritime route between any port situated on the Isle of Wight and any port situated in the county of Hampshire or the non-metropolitan districts of Portsmouth or Southampton;
“Solent crossing maritime operator” means—
(a) Hovertravel Limited (registered company number 830401);
(b) Red Funnel Limited (registered company number 10823670);
(c) Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited (registered company number 00002404);
(d) Wightlink Limited (registered company number 1059267); and
(e) Wightlink (Guernsey) Limited (registered company number FC025041).
Qualifying activities
3.—(1) For the purposes of this Order, a qualifying activity is any activity specified in paragraph (2) insofar as it—
(a)
(a) is for the purpose referred to in article 4(2)(a); and
(b)
(b) does not involve the sharing between Solent crossing maritime operators of any information regarding costs or pricing.
(2) The activities specified in this paragraph are—
(a)
(a) coordination as regards timetables to be operated during the crossings disruption period;
(b)
(b) coordination regarding the routes to be operated by any Solent crossing maritime operator during the crossings disruption period; and
(c)
(c) coordination on the sharing of labour or facilities during the crossings disruption period.
Exclusion from the Chapter I prohibition
4.—(1) The prohibition contained in Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 does not apply to an agreement2which—
(a)
(a) is between two or more Solent crossing maritime operators;
(b)
(b) relates to a qualifying activity;
(c)
(c) is notified to the Secretary of State in accordance...
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