(1)For the purposes of this section—
(a)“the UK subsidy control consultation” is the consultation announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in a written Ministerial statement made in the House of Commons on 9 September 2020 (consultation on whether the United Kingdom should go further than its existing international commitments in relation to subsidy control, including whether legislation is necessary);
(b)a “relevant report” is a report containing the whole or part of the Government’s response to that consultation (and for this purpose “response” includes any conclusions and proposals, resulting from that consultation, as to arrangements in the United Kingdom for controlling the provision by public authorities of subsidies which are or may be distortive or harmful);
(c)subsidies are “distortive or harmful” if they distort competition between, or otherwise cause harm or injury to, persons supplying goods or services in the course of a business, whether or not established in the United Kingdom;
(d)the “devolved authorities” are the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland.
(2)The Secretary of State must, before publishing any relevant report relating to the UK subsidy control consultation—
(a)provide a draft of the proposed Government response to each devolved authority, inviting it to make representations about the proposed response within a period specified by the Secretary of State, and
(b)consider any representations duly made by any of the devolved authorities in response to that invitation and determine whether to alter the report in the light of that consideration.
(3)The Secretary of State need not consult the devolved authorities further if the draft is altered as mentioned in subsection (2)(b) (but is free to do so if the Secretary of State thinks fit).
(4)The consultation required by subsection (2) is in addition to any engagement with the devolved authorities in the course of the UK subsidy control consultation.