Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31st March 2016 and appropriation of that sum

1.—(1) The Department of Finance and Personnel may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31st March 2016 the sum of £15,770,704,000.

(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 1.

(3) The authorisation and appropriations in this section supersede those in section 4 of the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 and section 1 of the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 2 of Schedule 1, any increase or decrease by virtue of this section in the aggregate amount appropriated by those provisions is given in brackets after the amount.

Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in the year ending 31st March 2016

2.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001, this section authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31st March 2016.

(2) The use of resources by—

(a) the Northern Ireland departments;

(b) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;

(c) the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;

(d) the Food Standards Agency;

(e) the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(f) the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation; and

(g) the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland,

in that year is authorised to the amount of £17,135,765,000.

(3) In that year, resources may be used by a Northern Ireland department or a body or person mentioned in subsection (2) for the purposes specified in relation to that department, body or person in column 1 of Schedule 2 up to the amounts specified in the corresponding entries in column 2 of that Schedule.

(4) The authorisations in this section supersede those in section 6 of the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 and section 3 of the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 2 of Schedule 2, any increase or decrease by virtue of this section in the aggregate amount authorised by those provisions is given in brackets after the amount.

(5) In this section “resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001.

Revised limits on use of certain accruing resources in the year ending 31st March 2016

3.—(1) For the purposes of section 8(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001, this section sets the relevant limits on the accruing resources that may be directed to be used for certain purposes in the year ending 31st March 2016 in addition to resources authorised by this Act to be used for those purposes in that year.

(2) In that year accruing resources not exceeding the amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 2 may be directed to be used for the purposes specified in the corresponding entries in column 1 of that Schedule.

(3) The limits set by this section supersede those set by section 4 of the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 2, any increase or decrease by virtue of this section in the amount of the limit set by that section is given in brackets after that amount.

Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31st March 2017 and appropriation of that sum

4.—(1) The Department of Finance and Personnel may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31st March 2017 the sum of £7,899,052,800.

(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 3.

Power of the Department of Finance and Personnel to borrow

5.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Department of Finance and Personnel may borrow on the credit of the sum specified in section 4 any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole £3,949,526,400.

(2) Any money so borrowed shall be repaid, with any interest due thereon, out of the Consolidated Fund not later than 31st March 2017.

Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in the year ending 31st March 2017

6.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001, this section authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31st March 2017.

(2) The use of resources by—

(a) the Northern Ireland departments;

(b) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;

(c) the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;

(d) the Food Standards Agency;

(e) the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(f) the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation; and

(g) the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland,

in that year is authorised to the amount of £8,680,276,400.

(3) In that year, resources may be used by a Northern Ireland department or a body or person mentioned in subsection (2) for the purposes specified in relation to that department, body or person in column 1 of Schedule 4 up to the amounts specified in the corresponding entries in column 2 of that Schedule.

(4) In this section “resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001.

Resource excesses for the year ending 31st March 2014

7.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001, this section authorises the use of resources by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland to the amount of £6,032,000 in the year ending 31st March 2014.

(2) In that year, resources may be used by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland for the purposes specified in relation to the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland in column 1 of Schedule 5 up to the amount specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Schedule.

(3) Those resources are additional to any resources or accruing resources authorised by or under any other statutory provision to be used for the purposes in that year.

Short title

8.  This Act may be cited as the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.