Subsidy Control, Procurement, and Judicial Review: Recent Case from the Competition Appeal Tribunal
Introduction
Recent proceedings in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) will address alleged breaches of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and the Public Contract Regulations 2015 in relation to grant awards made by a Local Authority outside of a subsidy scheme.
Background
From the case summary the Claimant sets out a number of investments were made relying on the availability of funding from the Council. Then later the Council “refused further funding, citing lack of available resources” to provide funds to the Claimants.
Key Legal Issues
The case covers several legal areas:
- Grant awards under the Subsidy Control Act 2022
- Procurement under the Public Contract Regulations 2015
- Judicial Review regarding the reasonableness of decision making in relation to providing limited funding to specific organisations and entities
Practical Implications
- To have processes to continually review any potential conflicts in the composition of any decision making board when allocating grants
- Having up-to-date Subsidy Assessments and processes for reviewing when additional funds are given to recipients
- To consider the cross over between grant subsidies and procurement when making direct awards
This outcome is one to watch for Public Bodies making individual grant award outside of a subsidy scheme especially when using external representatives as part of that decision making board.
To discuss how these developments might affect your organisation, or to review your grant-making processes, contact our Public Sector team or sign up for updates.
The content of this page is a summary of the law in force at the date of publication and is not exhaustive, nor does it contain definitive advice. Specialist legal advice should be sought in relation to any queries that may arise.
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