Campaign: Subsidy data
Update, April 2022: We won! The Government has accepted that better data will strengthen the UK’s subsidy system. Learn more about the new data that will be published - and thank you to everyone who helped us get there.
We’re calling on the Government to publish better data on subsidy spending, by amending the Subsidy Control Bill that’s currently going through Parliament. Read our full briefing, or learn more below.
The problem
The Government is creating a new, post-Brexit subsidy regime via the Subsidy Control Bill, which changes how government awards subsidies to business to support goals like net zero and levelling up.
Unfortunately, the Bill’s proposals aren’t matched with 21st-century proposals on data publication.
The UK’s new subsidy regime has fewer controls than before. Now we’ve left the EU, the Bill removes controls over the UK’s subsidy regime, to make it more flexible - subsidies will no longer require pre-approval from central government.
But it’s also less transparent. Public authorities will have to report their subsidies on a new public database. But the Bill only requires the very largest subsidies over £500,000 to be included in the public data - higher than the previous limit under the EU.
And subsidies can be harmful. While subsidies support innovation, bad subsidies can create harms like ‘rent-seeking’ or even corruption. Poor data and evidence makes these harms more likely.
The opportunity
Happily, there’s a straightforward opportunity for the Government to improve data on subsidies
Publishing comprehensive data would improve evidence on subsidies. We recommend all subsidies over £500 should be included on the public database. This would make it much easier to see where subsidies are going, and whether they’re working.
It will make it much easier to challenge subsidies. This would help everyone spot harmful or wasteful subsidies, and it would be especially helpful for smaller businesses, giving them a level playing field with competitors.
It’s a simple, low-cost opportunity. Crucially, this would not create new burdens on business, or be expensive - the Government itself estimates this would cost just £20,000 per year.
Read our full briefing to learn more.
Publications
Report: The case for UK subsidy transparency
January 2022
Co-written with the Centre for Policy Studies, and supported by John Penrose MP, this report called for stronger transparency requirements in the Government’s Subsidy Control Bill.
This report called for the Bill to be amended in order to lower the threshold of subsidies that must be publicly declared from £500,000 to £500.
Briefing: Strengthening the Subsidy Control Bill
August 2021
This briefing outlines proposals to strengthen the Government’s Subsidy Control Bill by amending its plans for a transparency database.
The proposals would make it much easier to understand where public spending goes and whether it works, and would not be difficult or expensive to deliver.