Following recent refreshed legal guidance, the AHF is adopting a revised approach to ensuring we are compliant with the Subsidy Control Act (2022). Almost all of our grants programmes are funded by public authorities, and therefore the grants we award must comply with the Act.
Given the volume and scale of our grant activity across the UK, and the fact that we specialise in supporting projects that will generate at least some of their income through economic activity, we have been advised to proceed as though every grant we award may potentially be considered a subsidy under the Act.
What does this mean for my grant?
This means that we will award all grants (where they are funded through a public authority) in line with the Act. The specific process will vary depending on which type of grant you receive, as we have sought to be proportionate in our administration.
Project Viability Grants will be awarded as ‘Minimal Financial Assistance’ (MFA). Each organisation is eligible for up to £315,000 of MFA across a three-year period, which must be formally agreed via a signed declaration. The purpose of this MFA allowance is to enable organisations to receive small-scale subsidies with minimal administrative burden. As part of your application, the AHF will ask how much MFA your organisation has received in the current and two previous financial years. Provided there is sufficient scope within your £315,000 allowance, any Project Viability Grant will be awarded as MFA and you will be asked to sign a declaration.
Project Development and Capital Works Grants will be awarded through either the Historic England Culture and Heritage Conservation and Repair Scheme or the Arts & Culture Streamlined Scheme (which applies UK-wide). The Grant Officer assessing your application may be in touch with you during assessment to ask how much subsidy funding your project has received to date.
The AHF has been advised that our approach is proportionate to the scale of different types of grant we award.
If you do not wish to take up your grant as a subsidy, you may request a review. We may also ask the relevant public authority providing the grant funding for their assessment of whether it would constitute a subsidy.
This review will necessarily take time and will result in a delay in the consideration of your application. We may ultimately decide that we are only able to offer an award as a subsidy, and it will be up to you to decide if you wish to accept the grant on those terms or decline it.