16 Aug 2019
The NAFD raises concerns about overly complex CMA consultation material
On 24 July, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) quietly published its most recent consultation document: Funeral Market Investigation: Approach to profitability and financial analysis. This fifty-page document of dense, technical jargon sets out the CMA’s proposed method for determining whether the recent profits of funeral directors and crematoria have been at a level to suggest competition problems in the market.
As such, it is a very important document. The CMA’s whole approach to the assessment of the financial data it receives as part of its market investigation into the funeral sector will, if not challenged, rest on the assumptions outlined in this document.
The NAFD engaged Europe Economics, the consultancy advising the Association on economic issues arising from the CMA investigation, to provide insight into the detail of this document and support us in putting together a challenging response.
Jon Levett, Chief Executive of the NAFD said: “Having assessed this complex document, we do not think the CMA’s proposed method will adequately deal with the fragmented nature of the funeral director market, which operates with a multiplicity of different business models with varying exposure to different risks.
Moreover, we are very concerned about the CMA’s approach to consultation on this important document.
“Firstly, the technical language in the document itself impedes effective consultation. It is surely incumbent on any public body conducting a consultation to use language which is accessible to the intended consultees, which in this case clearly needed to include funeral directors, but not so obviously professional economists, for whom the document appeared to have been written.
“Secondly, the time frame for consultation was ridiculously short and will have severely restricted the ability of many funeral firms to respond. The CMA only set a two-week window to submit responses to this consultation, during the height of the summer holiday period.
“We made our objections to the CMA on these matters, and they have responded positively saying that they will be publishing a paper in non-technical language so that funeral directors are able to engage with the consultation process.”
Given the important nature of this aspect of the consultation, and the need for the CMA to understand how funeral firms of all shapes and sizes operate, the NAFD urges members to respond when this non-technical version is published.
You can read the NAFD’s response by clicking here.