Power to provide financial assistance
The general power to provide financial assistance within this Act provides the UK Government with the ability to provide financial assistance for the purposes of economic development, culture, sporting activities, infrastructure, domestic educational and training activities and exchanges, and international educational and training activities and exchanges.
	The power to provide financial assistance in this Act is intended to enable the UK Government to provide funding to local authorities, sectoral organisations, community groups, educational institutions and other bodies and persons in order to support and promote these policy areas across the UK.
	The UK Government has a number of existing statutory powers to provide financial assistance in various policy areas. For example, the Industrial Development Act 1982 allows the Secretary of State to provide financial assistance to industry in relevant circumstances. The powers under the Industrial Development Act 1982 may be used by UK Ministers to provide funding in any part of the UK (the powers are also exercisable concurrently with UK Ministers by Scottish and Welsh Ministers by virtue of the devolution settlements in Wales and Scotland).
	Other existing statutory powers to provide financial assistance extend to some but not all of the UK, for example section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 which only extends to England and Wales, or section 126 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 which does not extend to Northern Ireland.
	UK Ministers have general common law powers to provide financial assistance, which are exercised by Ministers in accordance with the 1932 Public Accounts Committee Concordat and HM Treasury guidelines. Common law powers, however, are subject to HM Treasury limits. In addition, under the devolution settlements, common law powers in devolved areas have been transferred to the devolved administrations (although in Wales many of these powers are exercisable concurrently with UK Ministers).
	The general power to provide financial assistance in the Act is exercisable alongside the existing statutory and common law powers currently available to UK Ministers. The purpose of the power in the Act is to provide UK Ministers with a single, comprehensive power to provide financial assistance in all parts of the UK across a range of policy areas.