Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2002-05-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Scotland, State aid, aid system, application of EU law, investment aid, small and medium-sized enterprises

C 112/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

9.5.2002

Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission
Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the
EC Treaty to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises

(2002/C 112/03)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XS/44/2001

Member State: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Region: Scotland

Title of aid scheme or name of the company receiving an
individual aid: Support for new investment by SMEs

Legal basis: Section 171 of Local Government (Scotland) Act
1994

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall
amount of
individual aid granted to the company:
Estimated at GBP 5 million per annum across all Scottish
Local Authorities. Aid given under
this scheme will not
usually exceed guarantees of up to GBP 500 000 granted in
accordance with Commission notice (2000/C 71/07) on State
aid in the form of guarantees, loans of up to GBP 500 000 and
grants of up to GBP 250 000 for individual projects, however
in exceptional cirumstances these levels may be exceeded.

Qualifying criteria for beneficiary

Aid intensity

In Article 87(3)(c) areas limited to 10 %
maximum nge under UK-assisted area
definition

10 % nge + 10 % percen-
tage points gross

In non-assisted areas for small enter-
prises (1-49 jobs)

15 % gross

Medium-sized enterprises in non-
assisted areas (50-250 jobs)

7,5 % gross

Notes:

1. These are maximum levels equal to maximum nge and SME supplements as
per the assisted-areas map approved in July 2000 for the UK. Actual levels of
aid offered are set at the minimum level necessary to enable the project to
proceed with a viable three-year business plan.

2. nge would be calculated for control pruposes by computer for each project
using the procedues in the annex to the Guidelines on national regional aid
(OJ C 74, 10.3.1998).

3. These ceilings will be replaced by the specific limits for certain sectors when
special EU rules are in force. At the commencement of this scheme, these
sectors were agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, etc., shipbuilding, coal, steel,
synthetic fibres, motor vehicles and transport.

A condition of aid under this scheme is that the investment
will be maintained in the recipient region in Scotland for at
least five years.

Maximum aid intensity: Aid would be granted to beneficiaries
in gross terms. It would be calculated individually as a function
of the circumstances of the development and recalculated in
net grant equivalent (nge) terms as appropriate in order to
check that they do not exceed the following maximum nge
or nge and gross level combinations. Proposed aid levels
would then be corrected if necessary to conform with the
maximum aid intensities specified below (see Regulation (EC)
No 70/2001):

The ceilings in the table above apply to intensity of the aid
calculated either as a percentage of the investment's eligible
costs or as a percentage of the wage costs of employment
created by the carrying out of an investment, or a combination
thereof, provided that
the aid does not exceed the most
favourable amount resulting from the application of either
calculation.

Maximum investment aid intensities

Qualifying criteria for beneficiary

Aid intensity

In Article 87(3)(c)
under sparsity of population

areas qualifying

30 % nge

In Article 87(3)(c) areas not qualifying
under sparsity of population and qual-
ifying as a 20 % area under UK-assisted
area definition

20 % nge + 10 % percen-
tage points gross

MAXIMUM SCALE OF PROJECT AND AID

Aid will not normally exceed guarantees of GBP 500 000,
loans of up to GBP 500 000 or grants of up to GBP 250 000.
in exceptional circumstances, these levels may be
However,
exceeded.
individual awards under this scheme
In all cases,
will become ineligible for aid if either of the following limits
applies to the project proposal:

9.5.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 112/5

1. the

total

eligible

cost of

the project

is

at

least

EUR 25 000 000 and:

— in areas which do not qualify for regional aid under the
current UK national-assisted-areas map, the gross aid
intensity is at least 50 % of the ceilings laid down in
Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 70/2001, Annex 1;

— in areas which qualify for regional aid,

intensity is at
determined in the UK national-assisted-areas map; or

least 50 % of

the net aid
the net aid ceiling as

2. the total gross aid amount is at least EUR 15 000 000.

Date of implementation: 1 July 2001.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: Until 31
December 2006.

Objective of aid: To secure new investments by SMEs within
Scotland through provision of
the minimum necessary
assistance under this scheme.

Economic sector(s) concerned:

Coalmining: No

All manufacturing: No

Steel: No

Shipbuilding: No

Synthetic fibres: No

Motor vehicles: No

Other manufacturing: Yes

All services: Yes

This scheme does not apply to:

1. activities linked to the production, processing or marketing
of products listed in Annex 1 to the Treaty. This means that
aid cannot be provided to agriculture, aquaculture and
fisheries;

2. aid to export-related activities, namely aid directly linked to
the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation
of a distribution network or to other current expenditure
linked to the export activity;

3. aid contingent upon the use of domestic goods rather than

imported goods

Name and address of the granting authority:
Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council
Argyll and Bute Council
Clackmannanshire Council
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar
Dumfries and Galloway Council
Dundee City Council
East Ayrshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Lothian Council
East Renfrewshire Council
The City of Edinburgh Council
Falkirk Council
Fife Council
Glasgow City Council
The Highland Council
Inverclyde Council
Midlothian Council
The Moray Council
North Ayrshire Council
North Lanarkshire Council
Orkney Islands Council
Perth and Kinross Council
Renfrewshire Council
Scottish Borders Council
Shetland Islands Council
South Ayrshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
Stirling Council
West Dunbartonshire Council
West Lothian Council

Council contact — In the first instance refer to:

Stan Ure
Business Development Manager
Dundee City Council
3 City Square
Dundee DD1 3BA
United Kingdom
(tel. 013 82 43 49 08)

Other information: This scheme will be applied in accordance
with Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January
2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty
to State aid to small and medium-sized enterprises.