On 21 May 2020, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published a register of agreements notified under public policy exclusion orders made by the Secretary of State under paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to The Competition Act 1998 to exclude certain categories of agreements from the Chapter I prohibition due to exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy arising from the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19).

These exclusion orders exclude certain agreements in relation to health services in England and Wales, the grocery sector, Isle of Wight ferry services and the dairy industry rom the Chapter I prohibition (see Legal updates, COVID-19: Orders excluding certain agreements relating to health services, groceries and Solent maritime crossings from Chapter I prohibition published, COVID-19: Competition Act 1998 (Health Services for Patients in Wales) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020 published and COVID-19: The Competition Act 1998 (Dairy Produce) (Coronavirus) (Public Policy Exclusion) Order 2020 published).

The notified agreements in the grocery sector include agreements on the delivery of emergency food boxes to extremely vulnerable individuals self-isolating as a result of COVID-19 and on the sharing of information on the day-to-day stock position and on shortages of groceries and logistics services.

For further information on changes to competition law as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak see Practice note, COVID-19: Competition law implications of the coronavirus crisis.