Subsidy Control Bill (Third sitting)

Debate between Andrew Bowie and Paul Scully

Thursday 28th October 2021 Public Bill Committees

[Paul Scully]

Essentially, the framework and the clause minimise, but cannot eliminate, distortion. That is the purpose of the Bill.

[Andrew Bowie]

This is relevant to principle G, which says:

“beneficial effects…should outweigh any negative effects, including…competition or investment within the United Kingdom”.

I cannot see where the hon. Member for Aberdeen North is coming from when she says that more clarity might be good for local authorities and other granting bodies. That is quite clearly addressed in the Bill, so the Government are clearly trying to stop the negative effects she has described.

[Paul Scully]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Bill weighs up the benefits versus the disadvantages, and minimises rather than eliminates distortion—we cannot eliminate distortion. We have talked about this a number of times, and we will continue to, but the upcoming guidance will start to flesh out some of the specifics, which it is probably not appropriate to get into now.

Subsidy Control Bill (Fourth sitting)

Debate between Andrew Bowie and Paul Scully

Thursday 28th October 2021 Public Bill Committees

[Paul Scully]

The spirit is certainly there, but I do not want to bind future Administrations to a requirement to respond in emergency situations.

[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

I concur with my hon. Friend. We have seen in the past few years—with British Steel, for example—that the Government have had to move incredibly quickly to get subsidies in place. Adding that one-month period could determine the success or failure of such subsidies in supporting a specific UK industry. Time is of the essence.

[Paul Scully]

Absolutely. The Government have determined—as we did in debate on the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020—that subsidy control is a reserved matter, so it is right that subsidy control policy is made and voted on in Parliament. Clearly, we must ensure that those schemes are scrutinised, and we will continue to engage with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, as we have done in drafting the Bill and since its introduction. We are committed to engaging with them regularly and listening to their views during the Bill’s passage and beyond. That includes engagement on the definitions of “subsidy, or subsidy scheme, of interest” and “subsidy, or subsidy scheme, of particular interest”. I therefore ask the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston to withdraw the amendment.