A new system to regulate the
award of subsidies to business comes into force from today,
providing a boost to businesses across the country and empowering
public authorities to deliver support to businesses in a quicker,
fairer, and simpler way.
Subsidies will be tailored to local needs, with public
authorities and devolved administrations having added flexibility
to ensure they can get support to where it’s most needed as
quickly as possible.
The introduction of these new rules is the most significant
change in subsidy administration in over 40 years and marks a
landmark transition away from the restrictive aid scheme the UK
was subject to as part of the EU, which would regularly block
elected devolved administrations and local authorities from
delivering funds to businesses that most needed it in their
communities.
Business Minister said:
Our new subsidy control regime is another example of us making
the most of our opportunities to be free of Europe’s bureaucracy
and forge a future tailor-made for the UK.
New rules mean UK authorities will be free to deliver money to
businesses in a quicker, fairer, and simpler way, without
longwinded and unnecessary approval processes to bog us down.
Under the previous EU system, all subsidies except for a select
few under a ‘Block Exemption Regulation’ would be required to
undergo a time-consuming bureaucratic process, subject to
European laws and the European Commission.
Subsidies would require notification to and approval from the
European Commission well in advance, therefore delaying vital
funds reaching businesses in good and efficient time. The new
regime is tailor-made for businesses and public authorities in
the UK, with views gathered from stakeholders across the country
in an extensive consultation.
The new regime will also give public authorities the ability
to award subsidies through
streamlined routes, schemes that are pre-assessed by the
government, and provide public authorities with an even easier
and quicker way to award subsidies to businesses. The government
is currently developing 3 of these schemes, which will cover
research, development and innovation, energy usage, and local
growth.
The new regime also contributes to the UK meeting international
commitments on subsidy control, including its international
commitments at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and in Free Trade
Agreements.
