Sovereign Grant Act 2011

Sovereign Grant Act 2011

2011 CHAPTER 15

Commentary on Sections and Schedules

The Sovereign Grant

Section 1: The Sovereign Grant

27. This section defines the new grant and introduces the formula in section 6 which will specify its amount each year.

28. Subsection (1) provides for the Treasury to pay a Sovereign Grant for each financial year.

29. Subsection (2) specifies that the grant is to meet expenditure of the Royal Household in support of Her Majesty’s official duties. (See also section 13 which contains provisions about the meaning of references in the Act to those official duties and to the Royal Household.)

30. Subsection (3) sets Sovereign Grant for the financial year 2012-13 at £31m. This is equal to the level of civil list and grant support to the Royal Household in 2010-11, plus a supplement of £1m to meet the additional expenses of the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

31. Subsection (4) provides that, from 2013-14, the amount of the grant is determined by the process set out in section 6.

32. Subsection (5) indicates that the amount of grant set in accordance with subsections (3) and (4) can be affected by section 9 (that is, in circumstances where income from the Duchy of Cornwall is received by the Sovereign).

33. Subsection (6) makes Parliament responsible for paying the Sovereign Grant, i.e. it will be made available through an Estimate which Parliament has voted to approve. In practice, the Sovereign Grant will be paid through the Treasury Estimate.