Subsidy Schemes
Our Subsidy Powers
Subsidy means a financial or in-kind contribution given by a public authority to a commercial enterprise on a selective basis that provides an economic advantage, and that may cause a distortion in or harm to competition, trade, or investment.
As a public body with a broad economic development remit, we regularly provide grants, loans and other assistance to promote the growth of the region. From 4 January 2023 the scope of much of our assistance is governed by the UK Government’s Subsidy Control Act 2022 and further international commitments on subsidy control. These international commitments include the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), other Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
It is anticipated that in most cases our assistance, if assessed as a subsidy, will fall within the scope of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, Chapter 3 of Title XI of the TCA or aid within the scope of Article 10 of the NI Protocol.
Our assistance may be awarded through one of our subsidy schemes (see below). We may also award grants as Minimal Financial Assistance under the provisions of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
We always assess each project firstly for its potential to meet our economic development priorities and policies for the South of Scotland. If our assistance is considered appropriate, we will make an assessment to determine if the support is likely to constitute subsidy. If it does, our staff will work with clients to find the most appropriate legal cover to avoid breaching the competition laws. It is important that applicants provide full and accurate declarations in support of subsidy assessments. Applicants are responsible for seeking their own legal reassurances on becoming subsidy beneficiaries.
View current SOSE Subsidy Schemes
These schemes will be the principal instruments under which SOSE will grant subsidy in pursuit of our strategic priorities.
View previous SOSE Subsidy Schemes
View SOSE State Aid Schemes (1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020)
SOSE General Block Exemption Scheme
SOSE Agricultural and Forestry Block Exemption Scheme
SOSE Fisheries and Aquaculture Block Exemption Scheme
These schemes were valid from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020.