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Publication - Advice and guidance

Subsidy control: guidance

Last updated
3 April 2024 - see all updates
Directorate
Economic Development Directorate
Part of
Public sector

Guidance to help public sector bodies to understand and comply with subsidy control.

Supporting documents

Overview

From 4 January 2023, public funding became subject to a new, UK-wide subsidy control regime. The framework for this new regime is provided in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

As part of this new regime, public funding bodies and local authorities are required to adhere to provisions set out in the Act. We draw your attention to Statutory Guidance published by UK Government Department for Business and Trade (DBT) (formerly the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Please be aware this is a living document and may be updated by BEIS at regular intervals. 

The Subsidy Control Team will continue to provide updates for Scottish funding bodies and local authorities in due course via these pages and our usual stakeholder channels. 

Please note, subsidies given as part of European Structural and Investment Funds are still subject to EU state aid laws until schemes end on 31 December 2023.

Contact

subsidycontrol@gov.scot

First published
22 September 2022
Last updated
3 April 2024 - show all updates

  1. Text updates throughout, added new pages 'subsidy schemes' and 'challenging subsidy decisions', updated transparency reporting template, notification of scheme template and added scheme document template.

  2. Updated 'Overview', 'Minimal Financial Subsidies' and 'The Subsidy Control Act'.

  3. Updated 'Subsidy control - guidance: transparency reporting template' and 'Subsidy control - guidance: MFA and EPEIA transparency reporting spreadsheet'.

  4. Updated all pages and all supporting documents to reflect the new Subsidy Control Regime going live.

  5. Updated Subsidy Control Act to reflect the new permanent UK Subsidy Control regime, which will commence 4 January 2023.

  6. Updated Determining if a subsidy and Transparency requirements. Removed Transparency reporting guidance.

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