Facts: Bettercare complained that The North and West Belfast Health and Social Services Trust was abusing its dominant position as the sole purchaser of care services from Bettercare, by offering unreasonably low prices and unfair terms, contrary to Chapter III of the Competition Act 1998. The Office of Fair Trading declined to investigate, on the ground that the Trust was not acting as an ‘undertaking’ within the meaning of section 18(1) of the Act.

Judgment: The Competition Commission Appeal Panel (Sir Christopher Bellamy, President, Mr Michael Davey and Mr David Summers) held that the Trust’s activities in running its statutory residential homes and engaging in contracting out social care to independent providers were economic activities for the purposes of the Competition Act 1998, so that the Trust was an undertaking, subject to the Act.