CMA Subsidy Advice Unit Accepts Two New Referrals Covering North East Infrastructure Subsidy and Government EV Charging Scheme
The Competition and Markets Authority's Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted two separate referrals for scrutiny. The first concerns a proposed subsidy to Sunderland City Council by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (NEMSA). The second concerns the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV)'s proposed Strategic Charging Infrastructure Scheme. The OZEV referral was accepted on 24 September 2026 and the NEMSA/Sunderland referral on 7 October 2026. The SAU will produce reports advising each public body on whether its proposed subsidy complies with the UK's post-Brexit subsidy control regime under the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Why this matters
Both referrals engage the UK's domestic subsidy control framework introduced after Brexit to replace EU state aid rules. The OZEV referral signals that major government-backed EV infrastructure programmes are subject to independent scrutiny before deployment, adding a regulatory checkpoint to the UK's net zero transition spending. The NEMSA referral shows the SAU is being used for regional devolution-era spending decisions, not only central government schemes. These cases together illustrate the growing operational footprint of the SAU as a check on public subsidy decisions across central and devolved bodies.
On the Ground
Both referrals generate advisory and compliance work: public law and state aid practitioners will be mapping subsidy against the Subsidy Control Act 2022 criteria and preparing representations. Energy transition and infrastructure lawyers will track the OZEV referral closely, as the SAU's advice will shape structuring of future EV charging funding. A trainee would be asked to review the SAU's published reports on prior referrals, summarise the applicable subsidy control principles, and prepare a compliance checklist for the relevant scheme type.
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