- Belfast City Council (‘BCC’) is proposing to provide Mid and East Antrim Borough Council (‘MEABC’) with £12.6 million in the form of direct grants to expand the existing ‘The Gobbins’ visitor experience as part of the Belfast Region City Deal (‘BRCD’) (a £1bn investment programme which aims to boost economic growth and job creation in Belfast).
- Our key takeaways from the Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) report are:
- Policy objectives should be expressed narrowly within assessments, focusing on the particular project rather than any overall programmes.
- You should outline whether the subsidy has been designed to be limited to the minimum necessary and whether/what level of distortion of competition is expected.
- Assessments will be strengthened where evidence is provided to support any equity objectives based on the social and economic disadvantages of particular areas.
- Where possible, in describing the counterfactual, a clear baseline should be created assessing whether the subsidy creates the right incentives for the recipient and brings about the desired change to achieve policy objectives.
- You should explain changes in behaviour and how this is expected to support specific policy objectives being pursued. For instance, evidencing that the subsidy only compensates for eligible capital costs rather than ongoing costs relating to the normal day-to-day running.
Belfast City Council, Subsidy to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Posted in Subsidy Advice Report Tracker.