Law Commission launches project on consumer class actions regime

On 20 April 2026, the Law Commission of England and Wales announced a new project to examine whether a class actions regime should be introduced for consumer law claims. 

The project will have two core objectives: (1) assessing the benefits and risks of introducing such a regime, taking into account public enforcement and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) avenues already available; and (2) providing recommendations as to how such a regime should be designed, if it were implemented.  

The Terms of Reference for the project provide further details of the matters that the Law Commission will consider from a ‘design’ perspective, including how “consumer law claim” should be defined for these purposes (a key question); whether any such regime should cover opt-in as well as opt-out claims; the criteria and process for commencing and certifying a class action; the management of proceedings; and other issues such as settlement and funding (a topic that was subject to a separate recent review by the Civil Justice Council). 

The Law Commission has also released an Initial Scoping Questionnaire, inviting any early input from stakeholders by the end of October.  The questionnaire poses five questions covering the benefits and risks of an opt-out regime, design features to improve redress and ensure damages reach class members, and safeguards against speculative claims.  Work on the project is expected to start during Autumn 2026.

A Rapidly Evolving Space

The announcement arrives amidst several other live initiatives and developments in the UK competition litigation and consumer policy landscapes, including the Department of Business and Trade’s (DBT) ongoing review of the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) opt-out competition collective actions regime, and enhancements to the CMA’s consumer law enforcement powers (and wider policy reforms) under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 (DMCCA).  The announcement raises even more questions for businesses and the legal community alike.

Public and Private Enforcement Initiatives

The DMCCA introduced a new administrative enforcement model for consumer law breaches in the UK, giving the CMA the ability to issue infringement notices, impose fines of up to 10% of a business’s global turnover and award redress to consumers without having to go through the courts. These new powers came into force in April last year, and the CMA has been moving at pace ever since – issuing a wide range of guidance in areas of policy reform and commencing formal enforcement action against a number of businesses (across a range of sectors). 

Earlier this month, the CMA issued its first infringement notice using these new powers against the AA and BSM driving schools, in which it ordered refunds to be paid to 80,000 customers amounting to over £760,000 (as well as imposing a separate £4.2 million penalty).  Other enforcement cases remain active and it will be interesting to see how they conclude in due course, including whether redress forms part of those case outcomes. 

Given the CMA’s new enhanced powers, it will be important to understand the interplay between existing redress mechanisms and the nature / scope of any proposed new class actions regime, including to avoid any duplication.

'Opt-Out' Competition Regime Currently Under Review

Opt-out collective proceedings for competition claims were introduced in the UK over a decade ago now.  In that time, the CAT has become the venue for a growing and increasingly diverse body of competition class actions, including both follow-on and, increasingly, standalone claims based on allegations of abuse of dominance.  Recent claims have also seen the CAT having to grapple with allegations of abuse arising from consumer-focused conduct – prompting the CAT in one case to remind parties that “competition law is not a general law of consumer protection”. 

As noted above, the Government launched a review of the CAT’s opt-out competition collective actions regime in August 2025.  At the time, it was acknowledged that the regime had "expanded significantly" over the past decade, and that its increased case flow had highlighted the need to consider carefully whether the regime could be improved. The Government also flagged its awareness of the potential burden on business, noting that “finding the right balance between achieving redress for consumers and limiting the burden on business is essential to ensure that businesses can operate with certainty, whilst providing a clear, cost-effective, route for consumers”.

Responses to the call for evidence closed in October 2025, but the final conclusions from the review have not yet been released.  In its consideration and design of the consumer class action regime, the Law Commission is expressly required to consider the Government’s conclusions. 

Early Days

It's important to remember that these are still very early days and any new class action regime for consumer claims remains distant.  But UK consumer law is a rapidly evolving space and one that should be on the risk agenda for consumer-facing businesses operating in the UK.  

For now, we are keeping a close eye on future developments, including the planned publication of a formal consultation paper later this year.