That is not the example the noble Lord quoted. My understanding is that, if they are just increasing the attractiveness of an area and there is no direct financial payment to the company to move from one area to the next, yes, that would be allowed. If that is not correct, I will write to the noble Lord, but that is certainly my understanding of how that would work.
As I explained, this prohibition puts down a marker that is intended to prevent the small class of disruptive but harmful subsidies, such as poaching and outright bidding wars. I suggest to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Thomas, that it would not be easy for such subsidies to circumvent this prohibition.
5.30 pm
In response to the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, those harmful subsidies are already very unlikely to comply with the principles. However, the degree of harm they could cause to the internal market and the inappropriate use of public money this would involve justify the extra reassurance of this prohibition, as both a deterrent and a hard stop.
In respect to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Bruce of Bennachie, it is important to restate that this prohibition is not intended to capture subsidies that may substantially improve the attractiveness of investment in a specific area, as I have just explained, which would have the indirect effect of recipients relocating. The approach strikes the right balance: the clause will prohibit some of the most potentially harmful subsidies, without preventing what all would agree are levelling-up subsidies that attract investment to disadvantaged parts of our nation.