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ARTICLE · 27 JANUARY 2025

Subsidy Control Consultation: Time To Refine!

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There is a new consultation on the UK subsidy control regime for businesses to have their say.

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
Stacey Gray
Stacey Gray

There is a new consultation on the UK subsidy control regime for businesses to have their say.

On 26 November 2024 the UK Department for Business and Trade ('DBT') published details of a new consultation which is now live on the UK subsidy control regime: "Refining the UK subsidy control regime".

This latest consultation focuses on refining 2 key areas:

  1. Changing the thresholds for the referral of subsidies to the Competition and Markets Authority ('CMA').
  2. Creating new streamlined routes for public authorities to use to deliver subsidies more quickly and easily in specific circumstances.

Referral thresholds – unintended consequences

The consultation paper highlights potential unintended consequences with current referral thresholds. It states that since the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the 'Act') came into force on 4 January 2023 "a greater number of subsidies or subsidy schemes have been referred to the CMA under the mandatory referral threshold

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