The Office of Fair Trading is considering engaging consultants to carry out an anti-competitive investigation into Bus Vannin.

OFT chairman Martyn Perkins was quizzed in the House of Keys on progress into complaints by the taxi trade that dial-a-ride provides unfair competition.

’This type of investigation cannot be done on the back of a fag packet,’ he told MHKs.

Mr Perkins said he had previously promised to make every effort to expedite the investigation and he hoped to have it complete by September.

Covid has had a huge impact on the progress so far, he said.

He said it was always intended to take the analysis of the data to a point where it was necessary to engage external expertise to complete the assessment or whether it was more cost effective for the OFT to do the report in-house.

’We have now finalised a tender document in conjunction with Attorney General’s chambers and this has now been placed on the procurement service’s quick quote website,’ he said.

Expressions of interest close on April 5 with a submissions deadline on April 12.

’Once the information has been received and analysed the OFT will be able to make an informed decision on how to proceed,’ Mr Perkins said.

He assured members it will do so ’with alacrity’.

But Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas said it was disappointing that the OFT was having to engage external expertise for its core business of fair trading investigations.

He asked Mr Perkins to confirm that the OFT has carried out no price or anti-competitive investigations under his chairmanship.

’Even if the five years before that it was only private sector complaints about public sector market abuses that were investigated,’ he said.

The OFT chairman replied that state competition and monopolies are very complex issues.