Title and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Budget (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 and shall come into operation forthwith.
Interpretation
2. The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33) applies to this Order as it applies to an Act of the Assembly.
Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31st March 2003 and appropriation of that sum
3.—(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 2003 the sum of £421,576,000.
(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 1.
Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in year ending 31st March 2003
4.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (c. 6), this Article authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31st March 2003.
(2) The use of resources by—
(a)the Northern Ireland departments;
(b)the Northern Ireland Assembly;
(c)the Northern Ireland Audit Office;
(d)the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;
(e)the Office for the Regulation of Electricity and Gas,
in that year is authorised to the amount of £10,503,229,000.
(3) In that year, resources may be used by a Northern Ireland department or a body or person mentioned in paragraph (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 Article supersede those in section 6 of the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 (c. 3) and section 3 of the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 (c. 7); and, in relation to any amount specified in column 2 of Schedule 2, any increase or decrease by virtue of this Article in the aggregate amount authorised by those sections is given in brackets after the amount.
(5) In this Article “resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (c. 6).
Revised limits on use of certain accruing resources in year ending 31st March 2003
5.—(1) For the purposes of section 8(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001 (c. 6), this Article sets the relevant limits on the accruing resources that may be directed to be used for certain purposes in the year ending 31st March 2003 in addition to resources authorised by this Order or any Budget 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 Article supersede those set by section 4 of the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 2, any increase or decrease by virtue of this Article 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 year ending 31st March 2004 and appropriation of that sum
6.—(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 2004 the sum of £4,195,167,000.
(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 3.
Power of the Department of Finance and Personnel to borrow
7.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Department of Finance and Personnel may borrow on the credit of sums specified in Articles 3 and 6 any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole £2,308,372,000.
(2) Any money so borrowed shall be repaid, with any interest due thereon, out of the Consolidated Fund not later than 31st March 2004.
Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in year ending 31st March 2004
8.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001, this Article authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31st March 2004.
(2) The use of resources by—
(a)the Northern Ireland departments;
(b)the Northern Ireland Assembly;
(c)the Northern Ireland Audit Office;
(d)the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints; and
(e)the Office for the Regulation of Electricity and Gas,
in that year is authorised to the amount of £4,761,612,000.
(3) In that year, resources may be used by a Northern Ireland department or a body or person mentioned in paragraph (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 Article “resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001.
A.K. Galloway
Clerk of the Privy Council