State Aid Matters June 2011

State Aid compliance essential to RGF bids – Top tips for compliance

   
The second round of applications for the Coalition Government's £1.4bn "Regional Growth Fund" (RGF) is shortly to close (1 July).  Experience from Round 1 as well as the recent RGF road show run by the government department responsible for its administration (DBIS) has made plain that State aid compliance is a fundamental aspect to any bid which if not satisfied will cause that bid to fall at the first hurdle.  It is therefore plain and simple that any proposal for government funding must be State aid compliant.  DBIS has indicated that while it will be sympathetic to different State aid positions, even those that require individual notification to the European Commission for prior approval before implementation, they must all be fundamentally sound.

The State aid justification in a first RGF application need not be written up in extreme detail, but it must be made clear.  Those bids that are successful will then enter a due diligence phase in which the State aid justification must be articulated in more depth and pass a higher degree of scrutiny.  To that extent then, even if the State aid justification was not heavily articulated during an application, it needs to "hold water" during due diligence, so it pays to have been clear on this all along.

To view this publication in full please download the PDF attachment above.  To be added to the mailing list for this regular publication please e-mail your details to alan.french@cobbetts.com

The content of this newsletter is for information only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice.  Copyright 2011 Cobbetts - All Rights Reserved - June 2011