To create a subsidy scheme for directly allocating grant funding from Tendring District Council to Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) as part of the core funding under a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and the Mental Health Hub. An approved Subsidy Scheme will ensure the Council is compliant with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 by providing justification for direct granting funding to CAT should the funding fall under the new legal definition of a subsidy.

To agree an updated SLA with CAT for 2023/24 and to provide funding in relation to the Mental Health Hub.

RESOLVED that -

(a)    the Addressing Health Inequalities – Advice, Support and Mental Health Subsidy Scheme for 23/24, assessed as being consistent against the Seven Principles as set out in Appendix A to item A.3 of the report of the Leader of the Council & Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance, be approved;

(b)    the Assistant Director (Partnerships), in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Monitoring Officer, be authorised to finalise the administrative requirements for the production of the Subsidy Scheme in accordance with the Act and Statutory Guidance, prior to any awards;

(c)    subject to (a) and (b) above, Citizens Advice Tendring be awarded direct grant funding of £144,000 and £28,000 for 2023/24 and notification of such is published on the Government’s database;

(d)    a Service Level Agreement with Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) from 1st April 2023 until 31st March 2024 be entered into on the terms and conditions as set out in the updated agreement shown in Appendix B to the aforesaid report; and

(e)   a review of grant funding across the Council be approved and a report following the review considering the options available during 2023/24 be presented to Cabinet in readiness for 2024/25.

Earlier on in the meeting, as reported under Minute 16 above, and in the interests of transparency and for the public record, Councillor Placey (Partnerships Portfolio Holder) had stated, in relation to this matter that she had, until recently, been the Chairman of the Trustees of the CAT.

Cabinet considered a report of the Leader of the Council & Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance (A.3), which sought:-

(i)     to create an Addressing Health Inequality – Advice, Support And Mental Health Subsidy Scheme 2023/24 and grant funding directly to Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) as part of the core funding under a Service Level Agreement and the Mental Health Hub; 

(ii)    an approved Addressing Health Inequality – Advice, Support and Mental Health Subsidy Scheme which would ensure that the Council was compliant with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 by providing justification for direct granting funding to CAT should the funding fall under the new legal definition of a subsidy; and

(iii)   to agree an updated Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Citizens Advice Tendring (CAT) for 2023/24 and to provide funding in relation to the Mental Health Hub.

Cabinet was reminded that the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (“the Act”) had come into force in January 2023 and set out the UK’s subsidy control rules for public authorities.  A ‘subsidy’ was where a public authority provided support to an enterprise that gave them an economic advantage, meaning equivalent support could not have been obtained on commercial terms.  Subsidies could give recipients an unfair advantage over their competitors or be an inefficient use of public money if they did not bring about net positive change.

Members were informed that the Council was held responsible to consider the effect of the funding that they would award.  Subsidies should only be given in the public interest to address a market failure or equity concern, and if awarded, should be done in a way that minimises any negative impact on competition and investment to help ensure that public money was used in an effective and efficient way.

The Government’s introduction to subsidy control stated: “To minimise these risks and increase the likelihood that subsidies achieve positive outcomes, the UK subsidy control regime regulates subsidies given in the UK to prevent any excessively distortive or harmful effects.  The regime is designed to be flexible, to allow public authorities to support business growth and innovation, promoting competition and investment in the UK. Under the regime, public authorities can deliver subsidies that are tailored to local needs to deliver their strategic priorities.”

It was reported that the UK subsidy control statutory guidance, issued by the Secretary of State under Section 79 of the Act, in November 2022 and updated in June 2023, explained public authorities’ legal obligations under the regime and provided a framework for designing and giving subsidies in a way that was consistent with the Act.  In Chapter 3, the guidance advised that, if a financial assistance measure met the legislation definition of a subsidy, it would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22