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Regional Aid and UK Assisted Areas

Assisted Areas are those locations where regional aid may be granted under EU legislation. The current Assisted Areas Map came into effect on 13 February 2007, and remains in force until 31 December 2013.  On the basis of Article 87(3)a and Article 87(3)c of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997), State Aid granted to promote the economic development of certain disadvantaged areas within the European Union is considered compatible with the common market by the European Commission. This kind of State Aid is referred to as Regional Aid.

Regional aid consists of aid for investment granted to large companies or in certain limited circumstances operating aid which in both case are targeted on specific regions to redress regional disparities. Increased levels of investment aid granted to SMEs located within the disadvantaged regions over and above what is allowed in other areas is also considered regional aid. In Great Britain the main forms of State Aid is through discretionary grant schemes:

  • Grant for Business Investment (GBI) which helps fund new investment projects that lead to long-term improvements in productivity, skills and employment.
  • Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) - administered by RSA Scotland, part of the Scottish Executive, aimed at encouraging new investment projects, strengthening existing employment and new job creation.
  • RSA Cymru Wales (Regional Selective Assistance) - delivered by the Welsh Assembly Government to help support new commercially viable capital investment projects that create or safeguard permanent jobs.

Current Assisted Areas Map

Assisted Areas are those locations where regional aid may be granted under EU legislation. The current Assisted Areas Map came into effect on 13 February 2007, and remains in force until 31 December 2013. The map was reviewed in response to the European Commission's revised regional aid guidelines, and the review concluded with the Government publishing the current map as part of its response to a public consultation on Assisted Areas, in October 2006.

The majority of Government business support schemes do not rely on regional aid. The two qualifying regional aid discretionary grant schemes are: Grant for Business Investment (GBI) and Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) in Scotland and Wales. The whole of Northern Ireland is covered as an Assisted Area.

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