First Delegated Legislation Committee
26 October 2026
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Committee House of Commons
00:02 - 00:16
Speaker 5
Order, order. The Enterprise Act 2002, specification of additional section 58 consideration, order 2026, SI 2026 number 1075.
00:16 - 00:18
Speaker 1
I call the minister to move the motion.
00:18 - 01:12
Speaker 3
Thank you very much, Mrs. Barker. I beg to move that the committee has considered the Enterprise Act 2002, specification of additional section 58 consideration order 2026, which was laid before the house on the 12th of October. Colleagues will know that on Monday the 5th of October 2026, BT Group PLC announced it had acquired TalkTalk Telecom Group out of administration. As has been widely reported, TalkTalk had been seeking a buyer for its consumer and wholesale businesses for some time, but no deal was reached. Amongst other things, TalkTalk has been responsible for running telecare services to vulnerable customers, which created potential risk to life, in addition to potentially serious disruption to continuity and stability of our telecommunications supply, with impact on livelihoods, the wider economy, and national security.
01:12 - 02:11
Speaker 2
That is why, following the announcement that BT and TalkTalk were to merge, I intervened to ensure the government proactively acts to prevent any sudden disruption to these vital broadband and phone services affecting millions of people. On the 5th of October, I issued a public interest intervention notice under the Enterprise Act 2002. This begins a process where the Competition and Markets Authority investigates the sale and reports back to me on the effect of that sale on competition. I can then weigh up those considerations against other considerations specified in the public interest intervention notice before deciding whether the merger must be considered further or whether it can proceed. The considerations that I specified in the public interest intervention notice of the 5th of October were, firstly, the need to maintain in the UK the capability to combat and to mitigate the effects of public health emergencies.
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