Morning, Friday, 20th November 2026
Online
This conference will examine next steps for subsidy control in the UK. Taking place following the Subsidy Advice Unit report on the effectiveness of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and its impact on competition and investment in the UK, areas for discussion include the operation and further development of streamlined routes, subsidy referrals and appeals, support for public authorities, and transparency around subsidy decisions.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss the current subsidy control framework and consider priorities for future refinement, following the SAU report and the introduction of new streamlined routes for housing, arts and culture, and community and regeneration, including their potential role in supporting public authorities. Delegates will assess the report’s conclusions, alongside concerns raised within the EU about the UK subsidy control regime and the implications for UK-EU cooperation and discussions under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
We also expect discussion on priorities for strengthening the evidence base on the effects of subsidies on competition and investment, and how streamlined routes can support public authorities in delivering policy objectives, including housing and regeneration, as well as considerations for the future direction of policy and potential regime reform.
The planned agenda will examine the operation of subsidy referrals and appeals, including the respective roles of the SAU and the Competition Appeal Tribunal in scrutiny, review and accountability. Attendees will consider implications of recent court judgments for the interpretation and enforcement of the Subsidy Control Act, the wider legal framework for challenging subsidy decisions, and approaches to strengthening access to appropriate support for those seeking to understand or challenge subsidy awards.
Further sessions will also consider government support for public authorities in understanding and applying the subsidy control regime, including its requirements and the scope for flexible subsidy design, alongside questions relating to improving transparency on decisions by authorities to award subsidies, developing the functionality of the subsidy database, and the role of data and reporting in assessing the impact of subsidy interventions.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
- policy and legislation:
- impact of the Subsidy Control Act - stakeholder priorities for further reform or legislation - considerations for the future direction of policy
- implications of concerns raised within the EU about the UK subsidy control regime for UK-EU cooperation under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement - evolving EU state aid policy
- data and trends:
- assessing public authority, regional and sectoral trends in the granting of subsidies
- alignment with wider policy including Industrial Strategy and net zero - implications for regime on distortive or beneficial subsidies
- improving evidence base on impacts on competition and business investment - measurement of business compliance and monitoring costs
- streamlined routes:
- new streamlined routes for housing, arts and culture and community regeneration - improving take-up by public authorities
- evaluation processes on the operation of streamlined routes - priorities for additional routes
- referral and appeals processes:
- potential improvements to the SAU statutory referral and report processes - impacts of raised threshold for mandatory referral of subsidies in non-sensitive sectors
- implications of CAT and Court of Appeal judgements on interpretation of the Subsidy Control Act - effects on public authority scheme design and compliance frameworks
- assessing frequency of CAT appeals lodged and options for further supporting appellants
- supporting public authorities:
- improving Department for Business and Trade engagement to understand the coherence of the regime for authorities - demonstrating compliance
- improving flexibility to design and deliver subsidies and schemes to achieve public policy objectives
- capacity to undertake subsidy impact assessments - options for clarifying elements of the Statutory Guidance
- transparency:
- options for improving information on granting of subsidies and where authorities determine that a measure is not a subsidy - improving the DBT subsidy database
