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Publication - Advice and guidance

Subsidy control: guidance

Last updated
20 December 2024 - see all updates
Directorate
Economic Development Directorate
Topic
Public sector

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

Supporting documents

Subsidies and Schemes of Interest and Subsidies and Schemes of Particular Interest

The subsidy control regime empowers public authorities to give subsidies that are tailored to their needs, subject to compliance with the subsidy control requirements.  A small proportion of these subsidies will have greater potential to lead to undue distortion and negative effects on competition or investment within the UK, or on international trade or investment.  The subsidy control regime therefore includes two distinct categories of subsidy or subsidy scheme that have been identified as having greater potential to lead to distortive effects: Subsidies or Schemes of Interest (SSoI), and Subsidies or Schemes of Particular Interest (SSoPI).

If your subsidy or subsidy scheme comes under the SSoI or SSoPI categories, there are specific requirements that need to be fulfilled, including possible referral to the Competition and Markets Authority Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU).

For more information on SSoI and SSoPI, please refer to Chapter 10 of the Statutory Guidance.

For more information on Subsidy Advice Unit referrals, please refer to Chapter 11 of the Statutory Guidance.

Contact

subsidycontrol@gov.scot

First published
22 September 2022
Last updated
20 December 2024 - show all updates

  1. Text updates throughout and Commercial Market Operator Principle section added.

  2. Updated wording for transparency requirement, threshold information.

  3. Updated transparency reporting template, notification of scheme template and MFA and SPEIA transparency reporting spreadsheet.

  4. 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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