Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2024

Authorisation for the year ending 31 March 2025

Use of resources

1.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the 2001 Act, this section and section 2 authorise the use of resources in the year ending 31 March 2025.

(2) In that year, the use of resources by the persons mentioned in subsection (3) is authorised up to the amount of £28,772,794,000.

(3) The persons are—

(a) the Northern Ireland departments;

(b) the Food Standards Agency;

(c) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;

(d) the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(e) the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;

(f) the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman;

(g) the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

(4) Of the amount authorised by subsection (2)—

(a) £26,353,739,000 is authorised for use for current purposes, and

(b) £2,419,055,000 is authorised for use for capital purposes.

Limits on use of resources

2.—(1) Schedule 1 contains estimates relating to the persons mentioned in section 1(3) for the year ending 31 March 2025 (“Schedule 1 estimates”).

(2) In the year ending 31 March 2025, a person mentioned in section 1(3) may use resources in accordance with subsections (3) to (7) and a Schedule 1 estimate relating to that person.

(3) The person may use resources specified in column 2 of Part 1 of the estimate for the purposes specified in Part 2 of the estimate; but this is subject to subsections (4) to (7).

(4) Where Part 1 of the estimate authorises the use of net resources for current purposes, the person—

(a) may use resources up to the amount so authorised for current purposes;

(b) must not use those resources for capital purposes.

(5) Where Part 1 of the estimate authorises the use of net resources for capital purposes, the person—

(a) may use resources up to the amount so authorised for capital purposes;

(b) must not use those resources for current purposes.

(6) Where Part 1 of the estimate authorises the use of net resources in relation to a category of expenditure, the person—

(a) may use resources up to the amount so authorised for a purpose identified in the estimate as falling within that category of expenditure;

(b) must not use those resources for any other purpose.

(7) The categories of expenditure are—

(a) expenditure subject to a departmental expenditure limit;

(b) annually managed expenditure;

(c) non-budget expenditure.

(8) The authorisations in this section and in section 1 supersede those made by sections 7 and 8 of the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2024, which total £18,731,611,000.

Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund

3.  The Department may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31 March 2025 the sum of £25,255,627,000.

Use of sum issued out of the Consolidated Fund

4.—(1) The sum that the Department may issue out of the Consolidated Fund under section 3 may be used for the year ending 31 March 2025 in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) The sum specified in Part 1 of a Schedule 1 estimate as a money requirement may be used by the person to whom the estimate relates for the purposes specified in Part 2 of the estimate.

(3) The authorisations in this section and in section 3 supersede those made by sections 9 and 10 of the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2024, which total £15,724,763,000.

Power to borrow

5.—(1) The Department may borrow on the credit of the sum specified in section 3 any sum or sums not exceeding in total £12,627,814,000.

(2) Any money so borrowed is to be repaid along with any interest due on it out of the Consolidated Fund not later than 31 March 2025.

(3) Section 11 of the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2024 (power to borrow) is omitted.

(4) Any money borrowed under that section and outstanding on the day on which this section comes into operation is to be treated as having been borrowed under this section.

Use of income

6.—(1) In the year ending 31 March 2025, a person mentioned in section 1(3) may use income from a source specified in Part 3 of the Schedule 1 estimate relating to that person for a purpose specified in Part 2 of the estimate; but this is subject to subsections (2) to (5).

(2) Where the income is received in connection with current purposes, the person—

(a) may use the income for current purposes;

(b) must not use the income for capital purposes.

(3) Where the income is received in connection with capital purposes, the person—

(a) may use the income for capital purposes;

(b) must not use the income for current purposes.

(4) Where the source of income is identified in the estimate as relating to a category of expenditure, the person—

(a) may use income from that source for a purpose identified in the estimate as falling within that category;

(b) must not use income from that source for any other purpose.

(5) The categories of expenditure are the categories set out in section 2(7).

(6) Where, in the year ending 31 March 2025, money is received by a person mentioned in section 1(3)—

(a) the money may be used in accordance with this section or with any other statutory provision that provides for the person to deal with income in a particular manner, and

(b) in so far as not so used, it must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Excesses for previous years

Resources: excesses

7.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the 2001 Act, this section authorises the use of resources by the Department of Education (“ the Department”).

(2) In the year ending 31 March 2021, the Department may use resources up to the amount of £11,409,000 for the purposes specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2; but this is subject to subsection (5).

(3) In the year ending 31 March 2022, the Department may use resources up to the amount of £10,721,000 for the purposes specified in Part 2 of Schedule 2; but this is subject to subsection (5).

(4) In the year ending 31 March 2023, the Department may use resources up to the amount of £7,380,000 for the purposes specified in Part 3 of Schedule 2; but this is subject to subsection (5).

(5) The use of the resources authorised by this section must—

(a) be for current purposes, and

(b) fall within the category of annually managed expenditure.

(6) An authorisation in this section for the use of resources by the Department for particular purposes in relation to a particular year is in addition to any resources authorised by or under any other statutory provisions to be used by the Department for those purposes in that year.

Sums issued out of the Consolidated Fund: excesses

8.—(1) The Department may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31 March 2017 the sum of £397,000.

(2) That sum may be used by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland for the purposes specified in Part 1 of Schedule 3.

(3) The Department may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31 March 2019 the sum of £45,000.

(4) That sum may be used by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland for the purposes specified in Part 2 of Schedule 3.

Supplementary

Interpretation

9.  In this Act—

“the 2001 Act” means the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001;

“the Department”, except in section 7, means the Department of Finance;

“Northern Ireland department” has the same meaning as in the Northern Ireland Act 1998;

“Schedule 1 estimate” has the meaning given in section 2(1);

“statutory provision” has the same meaning as in section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

Short title

10.  This Act may be cited as the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2024.