Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme Guidance relevant to all rounds: Addendum to Sections B and C
Addendum to Section B: Eligibility, and Section C: Intervention Rates.
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Introduction
This addendum refers to the Welsh Government WMFS Guidance relevant to all rounds booklet published 5 December 2022. All changes and additions are made to Section B – Eligibility and Section C – Intervention Rates of the original booklet and are relevant to the WMFS General Funding Round only.
This is now superseded by the following:
Section B: Eligibility
Who cannot apply?
Each funding round may have specific and additional ineligibility criteria to the listed below, which will be stated in its specific guidance.
You are not eligible if you:
- Have been convicted of fraud under any other grant scheme,
- Have been found to have committed a serious violation of conservation or management measures within the preceding 12 months,
- Or a vessel you operate is listed for engaging in IUU fishing by the UK; or the flag State of the vessel; or a Regional Fisheries Management Organization or Arrangement (RFMO/A); or has been notified for engaging in IUU fishing under the WTO Agreement on Fishing Subsidies.
- Have been convicted of an offence considered to be a ‘serious infringement’ (including any illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing or fraud), in the 12 months before applying.
Section C: Intervention rates
It is your responsibility to source and provide match funding, such as business loans or cash resources. Evidence of this funding source will be required as part of the application process.
The intervention rate is dependent on your type of business or organisation as detailed in the table below with the maximum rate listed.
| Applicant | Maximum intervention rate |
|---|---|
| SME-Micro-entity A micro-entity is a business that has under 10 employees or less at time of application and one of the following characteristics: a) a turnover of £632,000 or less; b) £316,000 or less on its balance sheet. |
80% |
| SME- non Micro-entity An SME is a business that has under 250 employees or less at time of application and one of the following characteristics: a) turnover of less than £36 million; b) £18 million or less on its balance sheet. |
50% |
| Private (Non-SMEs) | 30% |
Collective interest or collective beneficiaries (e.g. Producer organisations or Fisherman’s Associations) | 100% |
| Public sector organisations (including public law bodies) | 100% |
| Charities | 100% |
World Trade Organisation and Subsidy Control compliance
Since leaving the EU regulatory jurisdiction, spending on fisheries and most related topics has had to comply with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures (ASCM) and the UK’s obligations under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
The Subsidy Control Act 2022 received Royal Assent in April 2022 and came into force on 4 January 2023
The subsidy control principles in the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and in the Free Trade Agreements that the UK Government negotiates with countries following EU Exit (UK Trade Agreements in effect) currently apply to the Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme: General Funding Round.
A "subsidy" in this context means financial assistance, which is given by a public authority, is specific and confers an economic advantage on one or more enterprises, and has, or is capable of having an effect on competition or investment within the UK, or trade or investment between the UK and another country or territory. Not all grants awarded from the Welsh Marine and Fisheries Scheme: General Funding Round will fall into the category of a subsidy. The Welsh Government subsidy control guidance has more information about what a subsidy is and what subsidy control means.
Your details may be published on a register of public funding recipients if the funding meets the criteria for public disclosure.