Select committee inquiry
Excess votes 2022-23
Closed
What the inquiry looked at
“The Public Accounts Committee scrutinises, on behalf of Parliament, the reasons public bodies (such as individual government departments) exceeded their allocated resources (see Standing Order No. 55(2) (d)). The Committee is required to report to the House when a public body has exceeded its allocated resource before this spend is retrospectively authorised by the House of Commons through the Parliamentary “Excess Votes” process. The Committee will report on an Excess Vote from 2022-23 to inform the House of Commons prior to the House considering the Motions to authorise public spending. Excess vote process Excess votes give retrospective authorisation for unauthorised departmental spending in the previous financial year. If a department exceeds the spending limits authorised by the House of Commons, the National Audit Office’s Comptroller and Auditor General makes a report to the Public Accounts Committee. The Committee examines the reason for the excess expenditure, and report its opinion to the House. Once the Committee has reported to the House, the Treasury presents a statement of excess (usually alongside any supplementary estimates) which seeks the House’s approval for the excess spending. If the Public Accounts Committee reports that it sees no objection to the excess being authorised, the question is put to the House without debate. This inquiry was closed due to the 2024 General Election.”
The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.
What the government said
The government responded on 3 May 2024.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response.
The government "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" that Parliament provide the additional resources through an Excess Vote for the Department of Health and Social Care's 2022-23 breach.
- The Committee's conclusion was that the Department of Health and Social Care breached its Voted Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit by £946.4 million.
- The Committee recommended that Parliament provide the additional resources by means of an Excess Vote, under Standing Order number 55(2)(d), and the government agrees.
- The government states the recommendation is implemented: HM Treasury has laid the Statement of Excesses 2022-23.
- The excesses are included in the Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2024, which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2024.
Read the government's response ↗ Read the report ↗ Report an error
How the inquiry ran
Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 22 February 2024 to its close on 3 May 2024.
- Report 29 Feb 2024
- Government response 3 May 2024
What it recommended
The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in Eighteenth Report - Excess Votes 2022–23 ↗ on parliament.uk.