Estimates are the Government's spending plans which are presented to Parliament for approval every year. Government requests to Parliament for funds for departments are made in at least two and sometimes as many as four stages throughout the year in a process known as the 'Estimates Cycle'.
Consideration of Estimates happens at least once a year (between April and July, with respect to the Main Estimates), but more usually twice (between February-March with respect to the Supplementary Estimates). Select Committees can scrutinise each departmental Estimate, and MPs collectively debate and scrutinise them on Estimates days.
Once the Estimates have been debated, the House of Commons must consider a Supply motion. If the House approves the motion, then the Supply Resolution that results paves the way for a Supply and Appropriation Bill. Once this Bill is passed, it legally authorises the expenditure as set out in the Estimates.
Each Government department produces its own annual Estimate, and HM Treasury compiles and publishes them together in a single Estimates report for presentation to Parliament.
Treasury rules define the spending categories contained in the Estimates. Each departmental Estimate is made up of three key parts.
This is the high-level description of what the money will be spent on in each department. If a department spends money outside the scope of the ‘ambit’ approved by Parliament, then that spending is unauthorised and therefore illegal. In such circumstances a department will require a Statement of Excess to provide retrospective approval for the spending.
These cover net spending, subject to the limits set out in the Spending Review process, in areas of activity that departments can generally forecast and over which they are therefore expected to exercise control. In each annual Estimate, the DELs are divided into two sub-categories:
Resource DEL, or current ‘day-to-day' spending: this includes, for example, costs for staff, purchasing goods and services, rents, maintenance and other administrative costs, depreciation and the sale of assets.
Capital DEL, or investment spending: this includes capital grants, loans, and the purchase, disposal or improvement of major assets.
This covers net spending in areas that are less predictable and therefore more difficult for departments to forecast and control:
Resource AME: this includes benefits, state pensions, and other welfare costs, as well as provision for liabilities.
Capital AME: this includes areas such as student loans.
Generally, departments cannot switch funds from DEL to AME, or from resource to capital spending categories, once the Estimate has been approved. However, within each category, a breakdown of proposed spending is provided, and this does not bind the government. Here, the government can vire money from one heading area to another, provided that neither the ambit nor the overall spending limit is breached.
In our latest ‘Whipping Yarn’, we talk with Simon Hart, former Conservative Chief Whip during Rishi Sunak’s Premiership. Hart opens up about his time in one of Westminster’s most demanding and discreet roles, chronicled in his new book, ‘Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip’.
If a crisis or major national event occurs during a period when Parliament is adjourned, there are often demands from MPs, the media and the public for Parliament to be ‘recalled’. But the House of Commons Standing Orders stipulate that only Government Ministers - in reality, the Prime Minister - can ask the Speaker to recall the House. In recent years the House of Lords has generally been recalled at the same time as the House of Commons.
In response to the Modernisation Committee's call for views on 17 October 2024, we submitted evidence outlining key areas we believe the Committee should prioritise. Our submission recommended a focus on: strengthening legislative scrutiny, with particular emphasis on reforming the delegated legislation system; enhancing financial scrutiny, especially in relation to the Budget and the Estimates; addressing strategic gaps in parliamentary scrutiny; making more effective use of parliamentary time; and reviewing the Standing Orders, language and rituals of the House of Commons.
This briefing explains what to watch for during the Second Reading debate of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November. It outlines the procedural and legislative issues that will come into play: the role of the Chair in managing the debate and how procedures such as the 'closure' and 'reasoned amendments' work. It looks ahead to the Committee and Report stage procedures that will apply if the Bill progresses beyond Second Reading. It also examines the government's responsibilities, such as providing a money resolution for the Bill and preparing an Impact Assessment, while addressing broader concerns about the adequacy of Private Members’ Bill procedures for scrutinising controversial issues.
In this ninth instalment of our special mini-podcast series, we continue to explore the latest developments in the progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, often referred to as the assisted dying bill. We are joined by Dr Marie Tidball MP to discuss the amendments she has secured for a Disability Advisory Board and an independent advocate for people with learning disabilities.
