Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which covid-19 Government support schemes are (a) subject to the European Commission’s Temporary Framework for State Aid; (b) subject to the De Minimis Framework for State Aid; and (b) not subject to State Aid rules.

Although the UK has left the EU, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU State Aid rules continue to apply in the UK during the Transition Period. The European Commission has introduced some flexibilities into the rules to deal address the impacts of the Coronavirus, in the form of a Temporary Framework, which the UK has taken advantage of.

The UK has two schemes that have been approved by the European Commission under its Temporary Framework: the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), and the COVID-19 Temporary Framework for UK authorities. Information about these schemes is available on DG Competition’s Coronavirus pages. The COVID-19 Temporary Framework for UK authorities allows public authorities to introduce their own aid measures without the necessity of obtaining an individual Commission approval. This provides cover for measures such as the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme (RHLGF) and CBILS for large business.

The UK is not required under State Aid rules to maintain a database of De Minimis aid, or of non-aid measures, but has used introduced measures on these bases to support affected business. For example, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF), operates on a De Minimis basis, while the Job Retention schemes and business rate reliefs, which are key elements of the Government’s support package, do not involve State Aid at all.