Find information on applying for grants from the UK Space Agency
Information for current and future grant applicants about how the UK Space Agency runs funding calls
The UK Space Agency supports the government to boost UK prosperity, understand the Universe and protect our planet and outer space. One of the ways we do this is through grant funding for businesses, academia and other related organisations to support activity that contributes towards these objectives.
This page provides information for current and future grant applicants about how we run funding calls, the types of projects we support and the costs you can apply to have covered using our funding.
What is grant funding?
The UK Space Agency offers grants for a variety of purposes, from supporting scientific missions to helping small businesses develop pioneering new technology. Grant funding is awarded through a competitive process, meaning you should expect to complete an application form to request funding from us. If you’re successful, you’ll sign a Grant Funding Agreement with us that will set out what your project will do and how much funding you will be paid.
Grant Funding Agreements are not contracts and grant funding is subject to some important constraints.
Firstly, grant funding is given on a cost recovery basis only, meaning you can only recover the actual costs you incur – you cannot charge profit to the UK Space Agency on grants.
Secondly, grant funding is subject to the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which means you may not receive funding to cover 100% of your project costs and may be required to contribute match funding towards your project. If this is required, the exact percentage of match funding will be set out in the specific information for the funding call you are applying for.
Thirdly, UK Space Agency grant funding is public money and we strive to ensure the maximum value for money on all projects we fund. This means you will be required to provide evidence for any costs you ask us to reimburse through grant funding. There are some costs we cannot cover through grant funding (known as ineligible costs), and we provide information on eligible and ineligible costs for each funding call in the specific call information page, as this varies between our grants depending on their objectives.
How do I apply?
You’ll need to complete an application form and submit this to the email address set out in the specific call page.
How will the UK Space Agency assess my application for funding?
Across the majority of grants we fund, the UK Space Agency uses standard assessment criteria, meaning you will be asked the same questions each time. There are five core questions that are asked across our applications, which are:
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The UK Space Agency’s aim is to deliver the policy objectives identified within the National Space Strategy. How does your proposal advance the strategic goals identified within the call document and the wider goals of the UK Government?
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The spending of grant funding should deliver Value for Money to the UK taxpayer, including robust financial accounting practices. Why do you need grant funding, how will you spend it and how does this represent good value for money for the taxpayer?
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Projects have a greater chance of being delivered to time and budget if they are well managed throughout their delivery. How will you ensure effective delivery of this project throughout its full duration?
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The Agency seeks to ensure that the investment it makes delivers a strong return and supports the space sector’s future growth. How will this project catalyse future investment into the UK space sector?
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Benefits should be tracked throughout the life of grant funded projects to help us understand the impact that public investment makes on the sector and any wider benefits to society that emerge. What will be the impact of receiving the grant, both for your organisation and outside your organisation?
There are two further questions that may be asked depending on the specific funding call you are applying for, which are:
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With limited public funding, the UK Space Agency prioritises technical projects that push the boundaries of innovation. These should also be practically achievable and have strong technical or scientific foundations that make successful development more likely. How is your idea both innovative and technically feasible?
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Sustainability should be embedded throughout the life of the project to ensure environmental assets are protected on this planet and beyond. How does your proposed project aim to have a positive impact on the environment and incorporate sustainability practices?
You can find guidance on what to include in your answers and details about how our evaluators score in the Investment Assessment Criteria.
A small number of funding calls may have different questions and criteria because of the nature of the call or if another organisation is administering it on our behalf. If so, details of assessment criteria will be set out in the specific page for that funding call.
Are there any eligibility requirements I must meet to receive funding?
All successful UK Space Agency grant proposals must follow certain mandatory requirements:
The project must be led by a UK organisation who will receive a grant from the UK Space Agency. This can be any type of UK organisation including University-led academic research proposals and Industry-led commercial research proposals
Grant recipients must demonstrate the ability to effectively manage a project
Grant recipients must have a UK bank account and all grant payments will be made in UK sterling (as per grant funding agreement).
As per the terms of the Grant Funding Agreement, the lead organisation will be required to put in place a Collaboration or Flow Down Agreement that ensures all terms and conditions within the Grant Funding Agreement are passed onto project partners. This should be in place with 30 days of signature. This should include provisions regarding how the results of the work, including any IPR and spinouts, will be exploited by project partners.
All project members must have in place and provide evidence when requested of appropriate anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies.
All project members must be able to provide evidence that they are GDPR compliant.
All project members must provide evidence of a process for declaring and managing conflicts of interest.
Projects cannot work in areas that are in active conflict and any travel to overseas areas must comply with Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice.
Projects must pass due diligence checks on company viability and national security (including financial standing assessment, governance assessment, conflicts of interest assessment, national security assessment and technical expertise assessment) – the UK Space Agency reserves the right to withdraw any offer in the event an applicant does not pass any of these requirements.
Projects must comply with any call-specific rules stated in the call guidance page.
Projects can include non-domestic partners (including those within the EU) who bring their own funding. Applicants should note that all applicants, irrespective of geographic location, must still satisfy the core eligibility requirements set out in this section above and award will be subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence checks.
What monitoring requirements do I have to comply with if I am successful?
The grant recipient will:
- attend a kick off meeting to initiate each project
- provide written progress reports to the coordinator along with regular review meetings (expected to be on a monthly or quarterly basis, depending on the size of your grant)
- attend a quarterly review meeting where their progress will be reviewed against the Grant Funding Agreement (GFA)
- provide milestone deliverables within the proposal using the example template provided
- provide evidence of meeting the milestones and providing deliverables agreed in their GFA
- provide regular updates on benefits and lessons learned throughout the project
- also schedule a final review meeting with the UK Space Agency Grant Manager at the appropriate time.
- provide a final project report including but not limited to an executive summary, delivery, actual outcomes, lessons learned, benefits, communication and outreach, next steps
What costs will UK Space Agency grant funding cover?
Grant funding is offered on a cost recovery basis only. This means grant funding can only be used to cover the cost of delivering the agreed activity or goal as set out in the project plan. Any surplus funds not spent will be lost to the project unless there are alternative arrangements agreed.
Applicants cannot receive any funding from other grants or contracts to undertake the same activities.
Funding cannot be rolled over between financial years without explicit consent from the UK Space Agency.
All partners must have a separate, project specific accounting code or bank account for project funds to enable a clear audit trail.
Invoices
The UK Space Agency will only pay on receipt of evidence of actual costs incurred and therefore we expect invoices may differ from forecasts. Should actual costs incurred be greater than the value of the milestone value, these costs will be borne by the Grant Recipient, unless the additional expenditure has been agreed with the UK Space Agency ahead of the costs being incurred and a Grant Change Note (GCN) has been executed.
Pay Costs
Staffing costs must be calculated on a cost recovery basis only and broken down by pay costs and overheads separately. Pay costs are calculated based on PAYE records. They should include gross salary, employer National Insurance (NI) contributions and employer pension contributions. Pay costs must not include:
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any profit margins
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commercial charge-out rates
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allowances for bonuses and benefits-in-kind
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business development
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travel and subsistence (eligible project costs can be claimed outside of pay costs)
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apprenticeship levy
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dividends
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time not spent working directly on the project (for example sick, annual leave, non-productive time or training days and maternity pay)
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use of blended labour rates inclusive of overheads
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forecasted pay increases
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overtime or time off in lieu (TOIL)
These pay rates will be subject to checks during the pre-award stage to ensure that day rates reflect actual costs. High payroll costs will be challenged and evidence (such as payslips) must be provided to justify the rate is on a cost recovery basis only.
When making grant claims against labour costs, actual costs claimed must be supported with timesheets of those individuals who have worked on the project.
In the budget breakdown provided, you are asked to provide a pay cost per day. Using actual gross monthly payroll costs, please assume 260 working days in the year, less annual leave and public holiday entitlements.
Please note that the pay costs submitted in your provided budget breakdown will apply for the full duration of the project and the UK Space Agency will not approve any requests to uplift pay rates, even if actual pay increases during the life of the project. For the avoidance of doubt, if actual pay increases, any increase will be borne by the recipient as an increased match funding contribution and any requests to re-allocate or increase grant funding to increase pay costs will be rejected (unless the specific funding call guidance specifies otherwise).
Subcontractors
You can claim costs relating to work carried out by third-party organisations that are not part of the project team. This work must be essential to the success of your project, involve expertise that does not exist within the project team and involve skills that it is not practical to develop in-house for your project.
You should name the subcontractor (where known) and describe what the subcontractor will be doing and where the work will be undertaken. Their role and engagement will need to be fully justified within the application. In accordance with the grant funding agreement, subcontractors should be selected through a process which ensures value for money.
Any work supplied by associated companies should be charged at cost and exclude any profit element.
Where subcontractors are non-UK based, please justify why you are unable to use a UK alternative. Lead organisations retain responsibility for carrying out due diligence on any subcontractors.
Where subcontractors have not been appointed at the application stage, the UK Space Agency will expect to sign off on their appointment prior to contracts being signed and will include this as a condition within the grant funding agreement. Unless specified in the call guidance, a maximum of 50% of grant funding can be spent on subcontracting.
Overheads
The UK Space Agency offers four options for overhead costs:
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No overheads, which can be used if you are not incurring or claiming grant for your overheads.
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20% of labour costs allows you to claim 20% of your labour costs as overhead. This includes both direct and indirect overhead. Selecting this option allows us to review a successful grant application much faster as no further documentation is needed.
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Academic institutions can submit overheads as part of their 80% full economic cost, which must be supported by a copy of your most recent approved TRAC methodology or suitable evidence to verify the legitimacy of the overheads request.
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The calculate overheads option asks you to complete calculations for claiming direct and indirect overheads. Any value claimed under this method will need to be reviewed by our project finance team if your application is successful, so we can assess the appropriateness of the overhead value being claimed. Please follow guidance in your specific funding call relating to how to submit calculated overheads.
Full overhead recovery or full absorption costing is not eligible (except for Public Sector Research Establishments, where it is specified in a specific funding call they are eligible to apply).
VAT Rules
Grants are not a payment for a service, they are provided without expectation of any return to the UK Space Agency. Grant funding is therefore outside the scope of VAT so you cannot charge output VAT on top of your submitted costs.
However, organisations that are not registered for VAT can include VAT incurred within their costs. Academic participants and industry partners can legitimately claim irrecoverable VAT incurred as part of their costs.
Ineligible expenditure
Ineligible expenditure includes:
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payment that supports for lobbying or activity intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, Government or political parties, or attempting to influence the awarding or renewal of contracts and grants, or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action
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using grant funding to petition for additional funding
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input VAT reclaimable by the Grant Recipient from HMRC
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payments for activities of a political or exclusively religious nature
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goods or services that the Grant Recipient has a statutory duty to provide
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payments reimbursed or to be reimbursed by other public or private sector grants
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contributions in kind (i.e. a contribution in goods or services, as opposed to money)
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depreciation, amortisation or impairment of fixed assets owned by the Grant Recipient
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the acquisition or improvement of fixed assets by the Grant Recipient (unless the grant is explicitly for capital use – this will be stipulated in the Grant Offer Letter)
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interest payments (including service charge payments for finance leases)
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gifts to individuals
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entertaining (entertaining for this purpose means anything that would be a taxable benefit to the person being entertained, according to current UK tax regulations)
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statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties; or liabilities incurred before the issue of this funding agreement unless agreed in writing by UK Space Agency
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employee paid benefits and bonuses
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costs incurred in the preparation of the independent assurance report where required within the grant funding agreement (for grants above the value of £250,000)
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alcohol
Eligible expenditure
Eligible expenditure includes:
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personnel costs; researchers, technicians and other supporting staff to the extent employed on the project
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costs of equipment and instruments, to the extent employed on the project
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costs of buildings and land, to the extent and for the duration period used for the project
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costs of conducting research and of external consultancy and contractual research or other knowledge assets, including patents bought or licensed from outside sources
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travel and subsistence, subject to the requirements set out in section 5.3 below
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subcontractor costs, as set out in section 5.4
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workshop or laboratory usage costs (including details of how cost rates have been calculated)
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training costs, where these are specific to and necessary for the project
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preparation of technical reports, where these go beyond the level expected for standard project management (for example, a detailed technical report outlining the development towards a key technical milestone rather than a brief summary that documents how much time was spent achieving this)
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patent filing costs for new intellectual property for small and medium enterprises, who can claim a maximum of £7,500 per SME partner towards the filing costs of new IP (this does not include legal costs relating to the filing of trademarks or related expenditure, which is considered a marketing cost and therefore ineligible)
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regulatory compliance costs where they can be justified and shown to be necessary to deliver the project
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any other project operating costs and project overheads; including costs of materials, supplies and similar products, incurred directly as a result of the project
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costs incurred in the delivery of education and outreach activity
Travel and Subsistence
You can claim reasonable travel and subsistence costs for those individuals identified in the labour tab. Costs must be necessary incurred exclusively for the progression of your project. Travel costs must be at economy and best value for money rates. You should provide details and the purpose for the expenditure, including the number of staff involved.
If for any reason these limits below cannot be adhered to (e.g. to accommodate a reasonable adjustment), you must seek prior written approval from the UK Space Agency. No claims for alcohol will be accepted.
The UK Space Agency reserves the right to not settle claims which have breached these guidelines. All expenditure must be supported by actual, itemised receipts.
Limits:
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Accommodation (London and International Destinations): £166 per night
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Accommodation (UK destinations excepting London): £118 per night
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Breakfast (UK and destinations excluding Europe and North America): £6
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Breakfast (Europe and North America): £12
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Lunch (UK and destinations excluding Europe and North America): £6
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Lunch (Europe and North America): £18
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Dinner (UK and destinations excluding Europe and North America): £18
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Dinner (Europe and North America): £30
Tolls, Ferry Costs, Parking and congestion charge: Receipted costs for ferries, and tolls bridges and roads unavoidably incurred during your business journey may be claimed. Reasonable parking charges may be claimed. Receipted congestion charges unavoidably incurred on your business journey may be claimed.
These lists are not exhaustive. Applicants are advised that all budgets will be scrutinised at submission to ensure costs only include eligible expenditure, and the UK Space Agency may request updated budgets where these are necessary for an application to progress to the next stage. No application will be excluded solely on the basis of ineligible costs being included in an initial submission.
What is a grant funding agreement and can I request changes to the terms and conditions in it?
The grant funding agreement template is included as a separate document when we publish a funding call. Applicants must sign up to the terms as set out in the grant funding agreement. No material changes to the terms will be considered.
Minor changes may be considered if an applicant can demonstrate that agreeing to the provision within the Grant Funding Agreement would result in the applicant breaching its statutory or regulatory obligations.
Grant applicants wishing to propose changes should submit their request ahead of their application deadline, with a marked up copy of the Grant Funding Agreement detailing requested changes.
The UK Space Agency has said my grant award is subject to satisfactory due diligence checks, what does this mean?
The UK Space Agency will carry out due diligence on grant applications as required using internal and, where necessary, external subject matter experts. The scope and degree of due diligence will be determined by the value, nature and complexity of the grant scheme. All applications will be subject to basic checks such as credit reports and Companies House checks.
Additional pre-award due diligence may include, but is not limited to:
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technical assessment of the proposed project: including technical viability and sustainability
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financial assessment of organisation financial standing/health, assessment of project costs, aid intensity values and match funding contributions (including any Subsidy Control requirements and cumulation thresholds)
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economic impact or Value for Money assessment
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commercial: viability and / or commercial sustainability of the proposed solution, market position, demand and / or interest in technology, terms of the grant funding agreement
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programmatic: alignment to aims and objectives of the programme, programme plan which demonstrates the project can be delivered within the funding period and the critical path, risks and issues, details on project partners and / or subcontractors.
Post-award due diligence may include, but is not limited to:
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technical assessment of milestone deliverables against acceptance criteria to allow milestone payments to be released
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financial: assessment of expenditure for each milestone payment and reporting on planned costs, follow up review of financial standing/health if it is a multi-year project
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commercial: change management including any variations to time, cost, scope, or GFA terms; review of milestone deliverables as required
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programmatic: project progress and impacts of any delays, risk assessment and mitigation activity
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end of project review: Has the technical and economic value been realised? Lessons learned and continuous improvement. Have there been any changes to the organisation since the grant award?
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UK Space Agency-commissioned and -funded financial audit of Grant Recipient, and if applicable project partner, costs.
Grant Applicants who opt to work with project partners (entities involved in delivery of the project under a flow down agreement rather than a subcontractor) will assume all responsibility for partner due diligence.
Applicants will need to demonstrate they have carried out a sufficient level of due diligence with regard to their proposed project partners and subcontractors. Applicants will need to demonstrate they have carried out minimum checks at proposal stage, which may require further scrutiny if the proposal is to be funded.
To meet this requirement, applicants can provide evidence of due diligence carried out supported by the resulting information or submit a partner reasonable assurance statement. The evidence should be consistent with the checks that we would conduct on our Grant Recipients, for examples, financial standing, technical ability and scrutiny of the breakdown of costs. Any costs associated with project partner due diligence is considered a bidding cost and is to be borne by the applicant.
Applicants must provide evidence that they, and project partners have in place of appropriate anti-bribery and anti-corruption internal policies, and a process for declaring and managing conflicts of interest.
My grant funding call asks me to collect information on the North Star Metric – what is this and how do I submit it?
The North Star Metric is a quantitative metric which measures the level of revenue and investment in the UK Space Sector which can be attributed to UK Space Agency support. Data is gathered as an agreed requirement of UK Space Agency grants and contracts from the recipients of those grants and contracts.
Why is this data being collected?
The UK Space Agency works to ensure that our investment in space brings about real benefit to the UK and its people.
Consistent monitoring and evaluation of our programmes is vital so we understand how well we are delivering the UK Space Agency’s objectives. This in turn helps us to ensure we are delivering the National Space Strategy, and informs how we prioritise our resource, select the projects we invest in, and make the case for future public spending on space.
We therefore require, as a condition of funding, that all recipients report the benefits they receive as a result.
The data allows the agency to show the benefits of the UK space sector and UK Space Agency spending, these benefits justify UK Space Agency spending.
What data will be collected?
Reporting will primarily involve four key elements, which are:
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total income
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total internal investment
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total private investment
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additional detail on funding sources as appropriate
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any additional benefits you wish to report
This information will be collected via a simple excel spreadsheet. The template is available alongside the other call documents.
Please note that data will not be shared with other companies and that it will be held securely in an anonymised form so that you cannot be directly identified.
How will the data be collected?
When beginning the grant or contract recipients will be asked to provide name and contact details of the person in your organisation who will be responsible for providing this information.
The data is to be reported at regular grant or contract management meetings on no less than every 6 months from the start of the activity covered by this agreement.
At the end of the grant or contract period the grant manager will decide a reasonable date with the grant or contract recipient at which time further data collection will be reasonable. Data will be required for at least 5 years after the completion of the activity covered by this agreement.
Where the length of benefit realisation would be longer than 5 years, the UK Space Agency may require an extended reporting period. This is to ensure that we are capturing the full benefits of an activity that has a long time period before those benefits are realised. Where this is the case the UK Space Agency will agree with grant recipients beforehand at the time at which a further request for information is sensible.
How will data privacy be maintained?
The information provided will only be used by the UK Space Agency and not shared with any other parties. Aggregate information may be presented more widely but this will be fully anonymised and not be attributable to any individual organisation.
In addition, this information is being used to assess the Agency’s impact on the space sector and is not intended to be used as a way to evaluate how the grant is being managed.
Definitions of the data to be collected:
The below table contains definitions for the data we are looking to collect. Information should be reported both on financial information from the grant or recipient’s own company but also, if known, other companies who may have benefited from the grant or contract, for example spinout companies that have been able to take advantage of a new technological development.
Direct benefits should always be reported. Follow-on or spillover benefits should also be reported where there is strong evidence that the spillover benefit would not have occurred in the absence of UK Space Agency funding and is attributable to the grant or contract.
| Term | Definition |
| Private Investment | Money invested by companies, individuals, or financial organisations through the following vehicles: equity, grant, prize, debt or alternative finance sources – excluding funding provided by the UK Space Agency directly or via the European Space Agency. The source of the investment can be either foreign or domestic. |
| Internal Investment | Investment within a company, or from a parent company to its subsidiary, to cover R&D, capital expenditures and other non-capital expenditures such development of intellectual property. |
| Total Income | Additional Income generated from creation of goods and services, as a result of the specified grant or contract. In the longer term this may also include income generated from royalties and licenses. |
Attribution to UK Space Agency support
Data should only be reported where it could be reasonably stated that the revenue and/or investment in question would not have occurred without the UK Space Agency’s funding. Where the revenue and/or investment may have only been partially realised in the absence of the UK Space Agency’s funding, best efforts should be made to estimate the proportion of contract revenue and/or investment which can have been said to have occurred as a result.
Examples of information that should be reported
Private Investment
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Equity investment from a venture capital fund which can be attributed to the development of a new technology funded by the grant or programme
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Awarding of a grant from non-government organisations to further develop an idea which was initially funded by the grant or contract
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Foreign direct investment that can be attributed to a company experiencing growth as a direct result of receiving the UK Space Agency grant or contract
Internal Investment
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A parent company diverting funds toward the company to aid in the delivery of the programme originated by the grant or contract
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The purchase of large capital equipment to further research initially aided by the grant or contract
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Investment of R&D funds within the company to exploit and idea initially proposed as part of the grant or contract programme
Total Income
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Direct sales of any good or services which have been developed by grant or contract funding
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Income of spinout companies which have been established using a technology developed by the grant or contract funding
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Total income of sub-sectors of the space market which have been newly developed as a result of the grant or contract funding
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Partial attribution of the revenue received from a future government contract which would not have been won without the development of a technology developed as part of the grant or contract programme
Additional Impact on Investment that cannot be quantified
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A qualitive description of the investment benefit generated from grants which have a negligible direct impact on investment, but these grants are critical to compliment company technology strategies
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A description of how the human capital improvements brought about by the grant or contract would lead to a more highly skilled workforce attracting investment in the UK Space industry from foreign investors.
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An assessment of how a technology developed by the grant has led to wider developments in the technological ecosystem which have generated their own investments and revenue.
Examples of information that should not be reported
Private Investment
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Grant funding received from the UK Space Agency – The Agency does not measure its grants’ success by the awarding of further grants in the future
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Full attribution of equity investment that can only be partially attributed to the grant or contract – If a grant or contract contributed to but is not the direct cause of receiving the investment then best efforts should be made to state the exact contribution of the grant or contract.
Internal Investment
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Match funding invested as a requirement of the grant – this information should be reported but in the separate field provided
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Funds redirect to divisions within organisations which in truth would have gone ahead without the grant or contract funding – if the grant or contract is part of a wider programme or division which receives additional funding this should only be counted if there is strong evidence these funds would not have been reallocated without the grant or contract being received
Total Income
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Grant or prize funding received from government or non-government organisations – This is considered private investment
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The Value of the grant or contract itself – this should be reported in the separate field provided
Additional Impact on Investment That Cannot Be Quantified
- Qualitive assessment of benefits that can reasonably be quantified – this field is a compliment to the other information provided and not a replacement.
North Star metric information should be completed in the spreadsheet provided to you each quarter (or at the interval specified in your Grant Funding Agreement) and submitted to the individual in the UK Space Agency agreed at your kick-off meeting.
I have been asked to complete a National Security Questionnaire and submit this with my application, what does this mean?
The threat to space is real and coming increasingly closer to the UK space industry as attempted breaches have demonstrated. Everyone needs to protect assets and services from adversaries, incorporating Secure by Design principles as projects, processes and systems are developed. Demonstrating a commitment to security is critical to the ongoing success of any business. Ensuring secure, robust and recoverable services and services can provide a competitive advantage in the marketplace and avoids unnecessary costly retrofitting.
The UK Space Agency works with the space industry to improve security and resilience to attack. As part of the requirements for this scheme, applicants must:
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complete the National Security Questionnaire and return with your application documentation by the deadline set out in the specific call guidance (please note that project partners are not required to complete this, only the lead organisation)
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apply for a free login for the UK Space Agency security extranet (Resilience Direct) to obtain security alerts and other communications and access guidance and other useful information tailored for the space sector
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successful applicants will be engaged at the pre-award stage by the UK Space Agency National Security team. All successful grant recipients must undertake measures that are appropriate and proportionate for the purposes of reducing the risks of security compromises occurring and preparing for the occurrence of security compromises
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successful grant recipients must provide a mitigation, response and recovery plan within six months of a Grant Funding Agreement being signed to resilience@ukspaceagency.gov.uk. Plans should include an annex or separate plan (proportionate to the company/project size and level of risk) detailing specific activity planned in response to a cyber security attack. Further guidance on plans is available on the Resilience Direct secure extranet and the National Cyber Security Centre website
What is the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and what does this mean for my funding?
The UK Space Agency supports organisations to invest in research, development and innovation. The support we provide is consistent with the UK’s international obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control. These include:
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The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), see [EU-UK TCA summary] and and Department for Business and Trade Guidance)
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In certain circumstances (e.g. under the Northern Ireland Protocol), EU State Aid Regulations may also be applied
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Other bilateral UK Free Trade Agreements where relevant
Grant recipients are expected to comply with these obligations and should ensure any application they submit meets the Subsidy Control Act 2022 requirements specified in the call guidance (including any match funding requirements).
What is a subsidy?
For the purposes of UK international commitments, a subsidy is a measure which:
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is given by a public authority. This can be any level; central, devolved, regional or local government or a public body
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makes a contribution (this could be a financial or an in-kind contribution) to an enterprise, conferring an economic advantage that is not available on market terms. Examples of a contribution are grants, loans at below market rate or a loan guarantee at below market rate or allowing a company to use publicly owned office space rent free. An enterprise is anyone who puts goods or services on a market. An enterprise could be a government department or charity if they are acting commercially
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affects international trade. This can be trade with any World Trade Organisation member or, more specifically, between the UK and a country with whom it has a Free Trade Agreement. For example, if the subsidy is going towards a good which is traded between the UK and the EU, this could affect trade between the EU and the UK. It is not necessary to consider whether the subsidy could harm trade, just whether there could be some sort of effect. Subsidies to very local companies are unlikely to be a problem as this is unlikely to affect international trade
The Subsidy Control regime (or where relevant EU State Aid Regulations) are designed to prevent unfair advantages and distortion of trade – please see further information on complying with the UK’s international obligations on Subsidy Control. More information on the principles of awarding subsidies can be found from the Department for Business and Trade.
Subsidy principles
Before awarding subsides, the UK Space Agency must ensure that the subsidy scheme meets the principles as determined in the Subsidy Control Act 2022. There are that:
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subsidies should pursue a specific public policy objective to remedy an identified market failure or to address an equity rationale such as local or regional disadvantage, social difficulties, or distributional concerns (“the objective”)
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subsidies should be proportionate to their specific policy objective and limited to what is necessary to achieve the objective
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subsidies should be designed to bring about a change of economic behaviour of the beneficiary that is conducive to achieving the objective and that would not be achieved in the absence of subsidies being provided
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subsidies should not normally compensate for the costs the beneficiary would have funded in the absence of any subsidy
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subsidies should be an appropriate policy instrument to achieve a public policy objective and that objective cannot be achieved through other less distortive means
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subsidies’ positive contributions to achieving the objective should outweigh any negative effects, in particular the negative effects on trade or investment between the Parties
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subsidies should be designed to achieve their specific policy objective while minimising any negative effects on competition or investment within the United Kingdom
To ensure our funding schemes provide funding in line with the UK’s obligations and commitments to Subsidy Control, the intervention rates detailed within the call guidance shall apply unless the applicant seeks to claim exemption under the Minimum Financial Assistance Allowance (previously known as de-minimis under State Aid & Small Amounts of Financial Assistance under Trade and Co-operation Agreement) rules.