BRIEFING PAPER Number 08926, 28 May 2020 Main Estimates: By Larry Honeysett

Government spending Philip Brien plans for 2020-21

Contents: 1. What are ‘Estimates’? 2. The 2020-21 Main Estimates 3. Parliament’s role in considering Estimates

www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Main Estimates: Government spending plans for 2020-21

Contents

Summary 4 What are Estimates? 4 The 2020-21 Main Estimates 4 What has changed since last year? 4 Parliament’s role in considering Estimates 5 1. What are ‘Estimates’? 6 1.1 Introduction 6 1.2 The Estimates cycle 6 1.3 Content of an Estimate 6 1.4 Spending limits 7 1.5 Ambits 7 1.6 Detail of spending plans 7 1.7 Estimates memoranda 7 1.8 Estimates memoranda 8 1.9 Funding for devolved administrations 8 2. The 2020-21 Main Estimates 10 2.1 Overall spending in Main Estimates 10 2.2 Overall public spending: forecasts 10 2.3 The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on spending 10 2.4 Day to day spending (Resource DEL) 12 2.5 Investment spending (Capital DEL) 13 2.6 Annually Managed Expenditure 14 3. Parliament’s role in considering Estimates 15 3.1 Estimates day debates 15 3.2 Submitting a bid for an Estimates day debate 15 3.3 Selection of Estimates day debates 15 3.4 Motions 16 3.5 Approving, rejecting or amending motions 16 3.6 Role of Select Committees 16 3.7 Role of House of Lords 16 Annex A: Summary of content of 2020-21 Main Estimates 17 17 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 17 Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 19 19 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 20 Department of Health and Social Care 21 Department for International Development 22 Department for International Trade 23 23 Department for Work and Pensions 24 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 25 26 HM Revenue and Customs 27 HM Treasury 28 Ministry of Defence 29 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 29 Ministry of Justice 30 Northern Ireland 31 3 Commons Library Briefing, 28 May 2020

Scotland 33 Wales 35 Other departments 37

Cover page image copyright: Birdcage Walk and HM Treasury by Kiril Strax. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 / image cropped.

4 Main Estimates: Government spending plans for 2020-21

Summary

What are Estimates? One of Parliament’s longest standing functions is the consideration and authorisation of the government's spending plans, requiring the government to obtain parliamentary consent before spending public money. Main Estimates are the documents that contain the detail of those spending plans for a particular year. There is a separate Estimate for each Government Department. Changes are presented at the end of each year through Supplementary Estimates. Each of the Estimates must be authorised by Parliament before they take effect. In the early part of the year, funding is provided through an advance, known as the Vote on Account. The new Contingencies Act 2020 also allows – for the next two years – further advances to be made before the authorisation of Main Estimates, up to 50% of past spending, on top of this 45%, so that departments do not risk running out of money. The 2020-21 Main Estimates The 2020-21 Main Estimates were published on 4 May 2020. They show the initial budgets which the government is seeking for each department, divided into separate limits for current, day-to-day spending (also known as Resource) – on staff and other running costs, on goods and services and grants; and capital (investment) spending – covering purchase and sale of assets, loans and capital grants. Costs are further divided into spending subject to fixed limits, based broadly on the plans outlined for 2020-21 in the 2019 Spend