{"id":511834,"date":"2025-01-07T07:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T07:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=511834"},"modified":"2025-01-06T16:55:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:55:06","slug":"competition-regulator-turns-to-ai-to-smash-bid-rigging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/tech\/competition-regulator-turns-to-ai-to-smash-bid-rigging-07-01-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Competition regulator turns to AI to smash bid-rigging"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK government\u2019s competition watchdog has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle the \u201csignificant risk\u201d of bid rigging.<\/p>\n

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) head Sarah Cardell said the body was trialling an advanced tool in an attempt to catch companies distorting contests for public sector work.<\/p>\n

Last month, the watchdog raided offices of contractors and technical advisors from several unnamed firms<\/a> as it launched an investigation into suspected bid-rigging on school roofing contracts.<\/p>\n

Cardell (pictured) told the Financial Times<\/em><\/a> that the government faced a \u201csignificant risk\u201d from collusion that would make public sector contracts more expensive.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe\u2019ve now got the capability to be able to scan bidding data at scale to spot anomalies… and to identify areas of potential anticompetitive conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pilot programme, which is taking place with one unnamed government department so far, was \u201cproving quite successful\u201d, according to Cardell.<\/p>\n

The CMA declined to give any further details of its AI trial when contacted by Construction News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In December, the regulator revealed it had \u201creason to suspect\u201d that firms providing roofing and construction services had colluded on bids for work funded through the Department for Education.<\/p>\n

The CMA said it was looking into whether this activity breached the Competition Act 1998.<\/p>\n

The watchdog fined 10 construction firms a total of almost \u00a360m in 2023, Cardell said in a blog post in November last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cWe are digging into how, with better data collection and sharing, AI could detect illegal practices, helping to reduce public expenditure and save the taxpayer potentially billions of pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardell\u2019s post made clear the importance the CMA places on effective procurement.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory and evidence show us that where competition is stronger, productivity and wage growth will be higher,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen time and again how fair, open, effective competition and market contestability can be catalysts for investment and game-changing innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The UK government\u2019s competition watchdog has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle the \u201csignificant risk\u201d of bid rigging. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) head Sarah Cardell said the body was trialling an advanced tool in an attempt to catch companies distorting contests for public sector work. Last month, the watchdog raided offices of contractors …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87938,"featured_media":470411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[565,579],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n