Asked by: Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether public grants to heritage railways and tramways are permitted under state aid rules where they fall within the English Aid for Cultural and Heritage Conservation State Aid Scheme.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Public grants to heritage railways may be permitted under state aid rules provided they meet the eligibility and other criteria set out in Chapter 1 and Articles 53 and 54 of the General Block Exemption Regulation 651/2014. It was under this legislation that the English Aid for Cultural and Heritage Conservation State Aid scheme was notified to the European Commission.