Statutory guidance

UK subsidy control regime: statutory guidance

Guidance for public authorities on their legal obligations when awarding subsidies.

• From: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and Department for Business and Trade
• Published: 11 November 2022
• Last updated: 4 August 2025
  Show all updates

  1. 4 August 2025

     SSoPI threshold in non-sensitive sectors amended from £10 million to £25 million to reflect new requirements as set out in the Subsidy Control (Subsidies and Schemes of Interest or Particular Interest) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. Chapter 2 updated to include 2 recommendations: first, that public authorities maintain clear documentation of their assessment under the four-limbed subsidy test, particularly where there is ambiguity or uncertainty. Second, that public authorities should be cautious of citing other external materials when defining the eligibility criteria of a scheme, as these may change over time. Chapter 3 updated to include expanded commentary on the barriers to entry that may arise from asymmetric or imperfect information. Chapter 5 now has further clarification on the prohibition for awarding rescue and restructuring subsidies to ailing or insolvent enterprises. This includes the addition of a process diagram. The section ‘Information to be uploaded’ in Chapter 12 has been redrafted to reflect the Subsidy Control (Subsidy Database Information Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 which removed a requirement for in-scheme awards to include the information required under regulation 3(p-x), such as whether the subsidy or scheme is a subsidy, or subsidy scheme, of particular interest. Annex 1 and 4 now include further clarity on how indirect beneficiaries should be presented on the database. The guidance includes a number of other minor amendments.

  2. 29 January 2025

     Statutory guidance updated for January 2025. Footnotes added in Chapters 2 and 15 to provide additional commentary on when an organisation may undertake economic activity while not being considered an enterprise. Chapter 3 updated to provide further clarity on when a subsidy control scheme is deemed to be ’made’, to provide additional guidance on ringfencing measures, and to include ’coordination failure’ as a type of market failure. Chapter 7 updated to include new examples of how subsidy awards of Minimal Financial Assistance and Services of Public Economic Interest Assistance cumulate together. Chapter 11 updated to clarify the steps to take during the cooling-off period after the Subsidy Advice Unit has issued a report. Chapter 12 redrafted to reflect enhancements to the transparency database. Paragraph regarding the provision of free goods and services removed from Chapter 15. The guidance includes a number of other minor amendments.

  3. 18 December 2023

     Update to guidance: Chapter 3 updated to introduce the ‘scheme document’, a record of a scheme’s terms and conditions that a public authority should prepare for internal purposes when designing a scheme. Chapter 3 also includes further guidance on assessing the subsidy control principles when making schemes. Chapter 9 includes clarifications on modifying existing subsidies, and Annex 1 has been updated to further clarify the definition of an ‘economic actor’ for the purposes of limb B1 of the subsidy test. There is also a new annex (Annex 2), that gives practical guidance to public authorities designing and assessing small subsidies and schemes. The guidance includes a number of other minor amendments.

  4. 30 June 2023

     Chapter 12 has been updated to reflect the new requirements for uploading information to the subsidy control database, as set out in the Subsidy Control (Subsidy Database Information Requirements) Regulations 2022. Annex 3 now includes additional guidance on how public authorities should calculate the value of subsidies, as set out in the Subsidy Control (Gross Cash Amount and Gross Cash Equivalent) Regulations 2022.

  5. 11 November 2022

     First published.

Documents

UK Subsidy Control Regime: statutory guidance

PDF, 2.4 MB, 267 pages

Details

This guidance provides a framework for designing and giving subsidies in a way that is consistent with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

It is designed to help public authorities award subsidies in a way that minimises any negative impact on competition and investment, and to help ensure public money is used in an effective and efficient way.

August 2025 update

This version of the statutory guidance includes several minor amendments as well as the following changes:

• Subsidies and Schemes of Interest or Particular Interest (SSoPI) threshold in non-sensitive sectors amended from £10 million to £25 million to reflect new requirements as set out in the Subsidy Control (Subsidies and Schemes of Interest or Particular Interest) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
• addition of a recommendation that public authorities maintain clear documentation of their assessment under the four-limbed subsidy test, particularly where there is ambiguity or uncertainty (Chapter 2)
• addition of a recommendation that public authorities should be cautious of citing other external materials when defining the eligibility criteria of a scheme, as these may change over time (Chapter 2)
• expanded commentary on the barriers to entry that may arise from asymmetric or imperfect information (Chapter 3)
• further clarification on the prohibition for awarding rescue and restructuring subsidies to ailing or insolvent enterprises, including the addition of a process diagram (Chapter 5)
• redrafting of the section on ‘Information to be uploaded’ to reflect the Subsidy Control (Subsidy Database Information Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 which removed a requirement for in-scheme awards to include the information required under regulation 3(p-x), such as whether the subsidy or scheme is a subsidy, or subsidy scheme, of particular interest (Chapter 12)
• further clarity on how indirect beneficiaries should be presented on the database (Annex 1, Annex 4)

If you would like a copy of a previous version of the statutory guidance, contact the Department for Business and Trade’s subsidy control team.