Normally this wouldn’t be a major concern - after all, the Competition and Markets Authority have criticised all 50+ proposed matters referred to them so far. However in this instance, both Bristol and Birmingham Airports have raised concerns and could bring a challenge… 2/2

The Competition and Markets Authority has criticised the assessment of the Subsidy Control principles carried out by the Welsh Government, in respect of a proposed £205m grant to Cardiff International Airport, in a report published today. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66fbd5... 1/2

Could Taylor Swift be the trigger for the introduction of Subsidy Control law in South East Asia? Not a line I expected to type, but this article explains more… tinyurl.com/Singastate#StateAid#SubsidyControl

Possibly the worst article about regeneration of all time… Two of the ten pictures relate to different places. None of the text mentions regeneration initiatives. The only point that is correct is that these cities would benefit from more investment. shorturl.at/McKlr

As always I’m on hand if any decision makers wish to chat about how to improve the system. / END

To be a success, the UK’s Subsidy Control regime needs fine tuning. Much more can be done to: • ensure subsidies represent value for money; • to help deprived areas and support environmental subsidies; and • to improve transparency. 5/6

Kwasi Kwarteng led on the design of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 His claims there would “be no return to 1970s approach of ministers trying to run the economy or bailing out unsustainable companies” are contradicted by much higher levels of state aid, seemingly for no greater return. 4/6

3. The Ugly The right balance around subsidy schemes has yet to be struck. As Tom Coates explains below the regime suffers from a serious loophole. The challenge period should run from when a competitor knows how much a rival will be receiving under a scheme. 3/6

2. The bad The government’s subsidy transparency website is incredibly poor, eg no search function. This hinders competitors finding out about subsidies to rivals. I expect the Commission is very concerned about this aspect, given its direct impact upon enforcement. x.com/alexanderphr... 2/6

The UK’s Subsidy Control regime is one year old on 4th Jan 2024. In this 🧵 I review whether it has been a success so far. 1. The good Public authorities can quickly award large subsidies under the UK rules. There’s no cumbersome notification process as under EU State aid law. 1/6