Referral of the proposed Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund subsidy scheme by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report providing advice to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) concerning its proposed Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund subsidy scheme.
Administrative timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 21 October 2026 | SAU’s report to be published |
| 23 September 2026 | Deadline for receipt of any third-party submissions |
| 10 September 2026 | Beginning of reporting period |
Request from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
10 September 2026: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from BIST concerning the proposed Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund subsidy scheme. This request relates to a Subsidy Scheme of Particular Interest.
The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of BIST’s assessment of whether the subsidy scheme complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.
Information about the scheme provided by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
BIST is proposing to create the Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund (CCRF), a subsidy scheme intended to improve resilience in the UK chemicals sector, operating until March 2030. Producers of strategically important chemicals will be invited to apply for funding for new capital projects, this includes producers of chemicals used in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors, and contributors to key supply chains. Through targeted and time-limited support, the CCRF seeks to strengthen the resilience and long-term sustainability of key production assets, reducing risks to continuity of supply and wider disruptions across interconnected chemical clusters and supply chains.
This intervention will aim to maintain critical supply of products, strengthen resilience of critical sectors and services, improve long-term business viability, avoid costly reactive intervention from government, and leverage private investment. This will be achieved through investment in modernisation of infrastructure and efficiency improvements to support long term sustainability of strategically important firms. The CCRF will also strengthen the resilience of highly interdependent chemical clusters and wider supply chains by reducing the risk of cascading failures across interconnected facilities and downstream industries that rely on continued access to critical chemical inputs.
Eligible companies have been identified by BIST and ratified by a panel of industry experts. Potential beneficiaries will be invited to apply to the CCRF, which is due to open in the autumn. They will be required to submit a business case setting out the resilience challenge being addressed, proposed investments, expected benefits, delivery arrangements and evidence of additionality and value for money. Funding decisions will be informed by project appraisal and assessment against scheme criteria, including strategic fit, deliverability, additionality, expected resilience outcomes, value for money and environmental considerations.
The overall budget for the scheme is £350 million and will be made available until the end of March 2030. Successful applicants could receive up to 50% of eligible costs of a proposed project where the project improves the resilience and competitiveness of the business.
Information for third parties
If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning the proposed Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund subsidy scheme, please send your comments on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Please send your submissions to us at sau-ccrf2026@cma.gov.uk, copying the public authority: dbtchemicals@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).
Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission
The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with BIST. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to BIST together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy scheme or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with BIST using the email address provided above.
The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.
For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Contacts
- SAU project team: sau-ccrf2026@cma.gov.uk
- CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk