[The Speaker of the House of Commons has certified this Bill as a Money Bill within the meaning of the Parliament Act 1911.]
Explanatory notes to the Bill, prepared by the Northern Ireland Office, have been ordered to be published as HL Bill 167—EN.
Lord Caine has made the following statement under section 19(1)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998:
In my view the provisions of the Northern Ireland Budget (No. 2) Bill are compatible with the Convention rights.
A
bill
to
Authorise the use for the public service of certain resources for the year ending 31 March 2024 (including income); to authorise the issue out of the Consolidated Fund of Northern Ireland of certain sums for the service of that year; to authorise the use of those sums for specified purposes; to authorise the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland to borrow on the credit of those sums; and to repeal a spent provision.
B e it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
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 2024.
In that year, the use of resources by the persons mentioned in
subsection (3)
is authorised up to the amount of £27,403,514,000.
The persons are—
the Northern Ireland departments;
the Food Standards Agency;
the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;
the Northern Ireland Audit Office;
the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;
the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman;
the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.
Of the amount authorised by subsection (2) —
£24,818,772,000 is authorised for use for current purposes, and
£2,584,742,000 is authorised for use for capital purposes.
The Schedule
contains estimates relating to the persons mentioned in
section
1
(3)
for the year ending 31 March 2024 (“Schedule estimates”).
In the year ending 31 March 2024, a person mentioned in
section 1
(3)
may
use resources in accordance with
subsections (3)
to
(7)
and
the Schedule
estimate relating to that person.
The person may use resources for the purposes specified in
Part 2
of the
estimate; but this is subject to
subsections (4)
to
(7)
.
Where
Part 1
of the estimate authorises the use of net resources for current
purposes, the person—
may use resources up to the amount so authorised for current
purposes;
must not use those resources for capital purposes.
Where
Part 1
of the estimate authorises the use of net resources for capital
purposes, the person—
may use resources up to the amount so authorised for capital purposes;
must not use those resources for current purposes.
Where
Part 1
of the estimate authorises the use of net resources in relation
to a category of expenditure, the person—
may use resources up to the amount so authorised for a purpose
identified in the estimate as falling within that category of expenditure;
must not use those resources for any other purpose.
The categories of expenditure are—
expenditure subject to a departmental expenditure limit;
annually managed expenditure;
non-budget expenditure.
The authorisations in
this section
and in
section 1
supersede those made by
sections 8 and 9 of the Northern Ireland Budget Act 2023, which total
£17,404,266,000.
The Department may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the
service of the year ending 31 March 2024 the sum of £22,790,893,000.
The sum that the Department may issue out of the Consolidated Fund under
section 3
may be used for the year ending 31 March 2024 in accordance with
subsection (2)
.
The authorisations in
this section
and in
section 3
supersede those made by
sections 10 and 11 of the Northern Ireland Budget Act 2023, which total
£14,154,737,000.
The Department may borrow on the credit of the sum specified in
section 3
any sum or sums not exceeding in total £11,395,447,000.
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 2024.
In the Northern Ireland Budget Act 2023, omit section 12 (power to borrow).
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
.
In the year ending 31 March 2024, a person mentioned in
section 1
(3)
may
use income from a source specified in
Part 3
of
the Schedule
estimate relating
to that person for a purpose specified in
Part 2
of the estimate; but this is
subject to
subsections (2)
to
(5)
.
Where the income is received in connection with current purposes, the
person—
may use the income for current purposes;
must not use the income for capital purposes.
Where the income is received in connection with capital purposes, the person—
may use the income for capital purposes;
must not use the income for current purposes.
Where the source of income is identified in the estimate as relating to a
category of expenditure, the person—
may use income from that source for a purpose identified in the
estimate as falling within that category;
must not use income from that source for any other purpose.
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
in so far as not so used, it must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
The authorisations in this Act, and the limits set by it, take effect as if they
were authorisations in, and limits set by, an Act of the Northern Ireland
Assembly; and accordingly any reference in a statutory provision to a Budget
Act of the Assembly includes a reference to this Act.
The 2001 Act applies in respect of the year ending 31 March 2024 with the
following modifications—
section 13
(1)
has effect as if for “where an estimate is approved by
the Assembly for any body or person in respect of any financial year”
there were substituted “where an estimate is laid before Parliament
for any body or person in respect of the year ending 31 March 2024”.
For the purposes of preparing accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024
for—
the Northern Ireland Audit Office (as required by Article 6(3) of the
Audit (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 (S.I. 1987/460 (N.I. 5)), or
the office of the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman (as
required by paragraph 19 of Schedule 1 to the Public Services
Ombudsman Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (c. 4 (N.I.))),
any estimate of the use of resources for that year that is laid before Parliament
is to be treated as if it had been laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly
under Article 6(2) of that Order or (as the case may be) under paragraph 18
of Schedule 1 to that Act.
In this Act—
“
the 2001 Act” means the Government Resources and Accounts Act
(Northern Ireland) 2001 (c. 6 (N.I.));
“
the Consolidated Fund” means the Consolidated Fund of Northern
Ireland;
“
the Department” means the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland;
“
Northern Ireland department” has the same meaning as in the Northern
Ireland Act 1998;
“
statutory provision” has the same meaning as in section 1(f) of the
Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33 (N.I.)).
This Act may be cited as the Northern Ireland Budget (No. 2) Act 2023.
A
bill
to
Authorise the use for the public service of certain resources for the year ending 31 March 2024 (including income); to authorise the issue out of the Consolidated Fund of Northern Ireland of certain sums for the service of that year; to authorise the use of those sums for specified purposes; to authorise the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland to borrow on the credit of those sums; and to repeal a spent provision.
Brought from the Commons on
Ordered to be Printed, .
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