Cuppa served in sober surroundings which uses government money (5,3)

I believe the answer is:

state aid

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'surroundings which uses government money' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'cuppa served in sober' is the wordplay.
'cuppa' becomes 'tea' (informal term for a cup of tea).
'served in' is an insertion indicator.
'sober' becomes 'staid' (synonyms).
'tea' inserted inside 'staid' is 'STATE AID'.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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