Recommendation 9

HM Government · verbatim extract Not Addressed

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund UKSPF has adopted an allocation methodology that allocates money on the basis of both population and need. The full funding formula is set out on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity- fund-allocations-methodology/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-allocations-methodology- note. The United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund is focused on Pride in Place and may lead to subsidies being given. In line with its work to implement the Subsidy Control Act, BEIS published a comprehensive set of products on 11 November which provide guidance to public authorities ahead of commencement of the subsidy control regime in January 2023. These include (1) the 4 Post pandemic economic growth: State aid and post-Brexit competition policy: Government Response statutory guidance on the Subsidy Control Act, (2) the subsidy control ‘quick guide’, and (3) the principles assessment template. Links to all these documents can be found in the main subsidy control page on GOV.UK – https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ subsidy-control-regime. The UK subsidy control statutory guidance provides public authorities with a comprehensive document that explains how they should design and give subsidies in a way that is consistent with the Subsidy Control Act. The subsidy control ‘quick guide’ gives public authorities an overview of the new rules and how they apply in practice. Finally, the principles assessment template outlines the main components of the subsidy control principles assessment framework that public authorities need to assess their subsidies against and is the template we suggest public authorities use to document their evidence, analysis, and conclusions. BEIS delivered 14 education events for public authorities during November and December 2022 ahead of the commencement of the new regime. These events, attended by 1500 people, took place both online and in-person, and built awareness and understanding of the new regime amongst public authorities. The BEIS subsidy control casework team is also available to offer guidance and support to public authorities. The Government recommends that public authorities contact the BEIS casework team (subsidycontrol@beis.gov.uk), or the relevant team in each devolved administration, if they have questions regarding specific subsidies or schemes they are preparing to create, or the UK’s international commitments on subsidy control. The CMA also published guidance on 11 November setting out the functions of the new Subsidy Advice Unit. www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation- of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit.