UK Subsidy Control Blog

UK Subsidy Control Insider

The UK Subsidy Control Insider (UKSCI) is an invaluable resource for those seeking insights into the evolving landscape of subsidy regulations in the United Kingdom. Since the enactment of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, there have been notable alterations to the manner in which public authorities administer subsidies, diverging from the previous EU State aid rules. This blog examines whether the reforms have delivered on their promises of efficiency and economic benefit, and analyses ongoing debates on potential amendments to prioritise considerations such as value for money and environmental impact.

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16. April 2026  |   by Alexander Rose

UK Government Establishes New Subsidy Control Exemption Allowing Grants of Up to £75m for Housing Projects
UK Subsidy Control Insider - UK Subsidy Control Insider Modern housing development
Streamlined Routes are exemptions within the UK Subsidy Control regime which can be used by any public authority to make awards of subsidy, provided that these satisfy all the relevant conditions. On 14 April 2026, the UK government made the ‘Housing Streamlined Route’, allowing public authorities to award subsidies with a value of up to £75m (€86.3m) towards housing projects. […]
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14. April 2026  |   by Alexander Rose and Jonathan Branton

How Can Politicians Reform the Subsidy Control Regime to Make it More Effective (and Should They)?
UK Subsidy Control Insider - UK Subsidy Control Insider Legal Dispute Litigation 1
The UK’s Subsidy Control regime is now in its third year of operation and, in line with its statutory duty, the Competition and Markets Authority is in the process of gathering information to enable it to evaluate the effectiveness of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, including the impact this legislation has had upon competition and investment within the United Kingdom, […]
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9. April 2026  |   by Oliver Slater and Beatrice Wood

Vexatious Litigation in the Subsidy Control Regime
UK Subsidy Control Insider - UK Subsidy Control Insider Legal Dispute Litigation
Table of Contents: 1. The Claim 2. A Pattern of Vexatious Litigation in The CAT? 3. Might the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Also Contribute to This Emerging Pattern? 4. Final Thoughts   A public authority was recently copied into an email principally addressed to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) purporting to notify the CAT of an intention to bring an appeal under the […]
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7. April 2026  |   by Sam Szlezinger

Relying on the Commercial Market Operator principle is less of a lottery: the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment in The New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission
UK Subsidy Control Insider - UK Subsidy Control Insider The New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission
On 26 February 2026, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) decided The New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission. This is the second case in which the CAT has decided a subsidy control case in favour of the public authority, applying the ‘Commercial Market Operator (or CMO) principle’ set out in Section 3(2) of the Subsidy Control Act 2022. The CAT found […]
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25. November 2025  |   by George Peretz KC BL

A high stakes appeal: New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission
UK Subsidy Control Insider - State Aid Uncovered photos 80
The appeal in The New Lottery Company v Gambling Commission centres on a decision taken in July 2023 to contribute around around £70m to Camelot’s marketing activity in support of the National Lottery, of which Camelot is the licensed operator.  The Gambling Commission (GC) took the view that the contribution did not give any economic advantage to Camelot, and hence […]
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20. November 2025  |   UKSCI by Oliver Slater and Beatrice Wood

Covert Subsidies: Are they flying under the radar?
Introduction Almost three years on from the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the “Act”) coming into force, public authorities have, on the most part, got to grips with the routine processes and procedures needed to comply with the Act. However, there are some areas where public authorities are either unaware that the Act should bite or are failing to apply the […]
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18. November 2025  |   UKSCI by Alexander Rose and Schellion J. Horn

The European Union publicly expresses concern about the effectiveness of the UK’s Subsidy Control regime
UK Subsidy Control Insider - State Aid Uncovered photos 76
The European Union has published concerns about the effectiveness of the UK’s Subsidy Control regime – a strong indication that the enforcement provisions of the UK’s regime will be one of the issues raised at the five year review of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement in 2026. In this article Alexander Rose and Schellion Horn consider the implications of […]
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4. November 2025  |   UKSCI by Jamie Dunne

From the sublime to the ridiculous: Thomas v Durham County Council in the CAT
UK Subsidy Control Insider - State Aid Uncovered photos 75
Introduction  After a slow start, the number of legal challenges brought under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the “Act”) has started to tick up. Only one case – Durham Company v Durham County Council – was lodged in 2023, with a judgment later that year. The second – Weis v Greater Manchester Combined Authority – was lodged in 2024 and […]
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7. November 2024  |   UKSCI by Jonathan Branton and Alexander Rose

Opinion – the UK’s Subsidy Control Regime Can Be Improved Through More, Better Targeted Streamlined Routes
UK Subsidy Control Insider - State Aid Uncovered photos 6
Subsidy Control law is important for the economy and therefore impacts the living standards of people across the United Kingdom. Well targeted subsidies can improve the economy, for example by driving forward high growth sectors such as the Space and technology sector, whereas poorly designed subsidies are wasteful and can serve to undermine competition within the market. The UK’s Subsidy […]
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6. November 2024  |   UKSCI by Jamie Dunne

Competing Visions of the UK’s Subsidy Control Regime
UK Subsidy Control Insider - UKSCI in Brevo
At a Subsidy Control conference in June 2024, then Competition Appeal Tribunal President Mr Justice Marcus Smith spoke about the logic of the UK having a domestic Subsidy Control regime, noting that the UK is an outlier in having such a system of purely domestic control of state subsidies. With a new government in place and over 18 months having […]
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Kieran McGaughey
Consultant Solicitor, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Beatrice Wood
Associate, Sharpe Pritchard LLP, London, United Kingdom
George Peretz KC BL
Monckton Chambers, UK
Schellion J. Horn
Partner and Economic Consulting, Grant Thornton UK, London, United Kingdom
Hana Hammouda
Senior Manager and Economic Consultant, Grant Thornton UK, London, United Kingdom
Alexander Rose
Partner, Ward Hadaway, Newcastle
Sattam Al-Mugheiry
Barrister
Joanne Clement KC
KC at @11KBW, London, United Kingdom
Sir Marcus Smith
President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal
Charlotte McLean
Referendaire
Angelica Hymers
Senior Associate, Browne Jacobson LLP
Alex Kynoch
Partner, Browne Jacobson LLP
Hana Hammouda
Senior Manager, Grant Thornton UK LLP
Jamie Dunne
Legal Director, Brodies LLP Solicitors
Jonathan Branton

Partner // Head of Government & Public Sector, DWF in Leeds

Jonathan is Head of EU/Competition at DWF and also leads the Government & Public Sector group.
Oliver Slater
Associate, Sharpe Pritchard LLP, London, United Kingdom

Behind the UK Subsidy Control Insider you find our expert team of editors:

George Peretz KC BL
Monckton Chambers, UK
Alexander Rose
Partner, Ward Hadaway, Newcastle
Andrea Biondi
Advocate General, Court of Justice of the European Union; Professor, Director of the Centre of European Law, King’s College, London
Joanne Clement KC
KC at @11KBW, London, United Kingdom
Angus Johnston
Professor, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Alex Eaton
DWF Law, Manchester, United Kingdom
Schellion J. Horn
Partner and Economic Consulting, Grant Thornton UK, London, United Kingdom
Hana Hammouda
Senior Manager and Economic Consultant, Grant Thornton UK, London, United Kingdom
Kieran McGaughey
Consultant Solicitor, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Sattam Al-Mugheiry
Barrister

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