Subsidy control is a relatively new legal framework, having replaced the European Union’s State aid regime following the UK’s departure from the EU. When the 2022 Act came into force on 4 January 2023, a new domestic regime was created. Prior to that, many funding arrangements were put in place under two different transitional regimes: while the UK was still in the EU, many funding arrangements continued to be established under State aid schemes, and then between 1 January 2021 and 3 January 2023 new funding arrangements were subject to the requirements in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

These “legacy” schemes and subsidies continued after 4 January 2023 in line with their own terms (and could be extended and modified if their terms allowed for this) and were not subject to the 2022 Act. This means that many organisations may not yet have noticed much regulatory change. As those legacy arrangements begin to expire, more voluntary organisations are now encountering subsidy control.

[Previous: What subsidy control means for the voluntary sector](/support/running-your-organisation/finance-business-management/subsidy-control/what-subsidy-control-means-for-the-voluntary-sector) [Next: Exemptions](/support/running-your-organisation/finance-business-management/subsidy-control/exemptions)

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## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored, learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)
