What is the Estimates cycle? How does Government ask Parliament for funds for departments?

Publications / Guides

What is the Estimates cycle?

©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Multi-year Spending Reviews set out headline spending plans for each Government department. Drawing on the plans outlined in the Spending Review, the Government then makes formal requests to Parliament for funds for departments for the financial year ahead. These requests are made in at least two and sometimes as many as four stages throughout the year in a process known as the 'Estimates Cycle'.

Stage 1: Vote on Account

This is normally published each February and approved by the House of Commons in March (alongside the Supplementary Estimates – see below), in time for the start of the next financial year in April. It is a request from the Government for advance funding to cover departmental spending plans for the first four months of the next financial year.

The calculation of this sum is usually based on 45% of spending in the current financial year (the year during which the vote takes place). This sum is intended to be sufficient to tide the Government over until the Main Estimate is approved in the summer (see below), but not to be so large as to reduce entirely the importance of Parliament’s consideration of the Main Estimate.

Stage 2: Main Estimates

These set out the Government’s formal annual spending plans for each department, and their agencies and arms-length bodies. The Main Estimates are normally presented to Parliament in April for approval by the House of Commons in early July (in the event of a general election in the Spring/early Summer the Estimates are usually presented to Parliament in July).

The advance funding approved through the earlier Vote on Account is deducted from each departmental estimate and the remainder (known as the ‘balances to complete’) is approved through Supply resolutions. These Resolutions are then given legal effect through a Supply and Appropriations (Main Estimates) Act. This legislation provides the legal basis for the issuing of money from the Consolidated Fund in accordance with the requested sums and spending limits set out in the Main Estimates.

Stage 3: Supplementary Estimates (if required)

These are the Government’s additional requests to Parliament to authorise new funding levels (or amend existing ones) and/or authorise changes in the purpose for which money is sought by departments. Supplementary Estimates are used, for example, to address costs arising from transfers of functions in machinery-of-government changes.

Supplementary Estimates are usually published in February for approval by the House of Commons in Supply resolutions by 18 March, to enable the funds to be spent before the end of the financial year. The Supply resolutions are then given legal effect in a Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act.

Stage 4: Statement of Excesses (if required)

These are exceptional requests made by the Government if a department spends money beyond the level or purpose approved by Parliament. In effect, MPs are asked to grant retrospective approval for the spending. Statements of Excesses are exceptional spending requests, not the norm, and usually arise as a result of an error, or where unavoidable spending has been incurred. Any such Statement automatically triggers a qualified audit opinion by the National Audit Office and a Public Accounts Committee report.

Where do the Estimates fit in the annual financial cycle?

The graphic below - compiled by the House of Commons Library - sets out where the Main Estimate and Supplementary Estimates and the accompanying Supply and Appropriations Bills fit in a normal financial cycle.

Stages of the financial cycle, from Revised Government spending plans for 2022/23, Research Briefing (No. CBP 9730), 1 March 2023. ©House of Commons Library

In this collection

What are Estimates?

Rishi Sunak at the Despatch Box. ©UK Parliament

What is the Estimates cycle?

Select Committee session. ©UK Parliament

How does Parliament debate Government spending plans?

Suella Braverman at the Despatch Box. ©UK Parliament

How does Parliament approve Government spending plans?

House of Commons in 1833. ©National Gallery

Why does Parliament approve Government spending?

What is a Money Bill?

← Back to the collection homepage

Latest / Highlights

News / Should Parliament, rather than Ministers, oversee public inquiries? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 67

With the Government still under pressure to set up an independent inquiry into child grooming gangs should Parliament have a role in setting up inquiries into state failures and national disasters? Currently, Ministers take crucial decisions about who should chair an inquiry and what its precise remit should be. But a House of Lords Committee last year proposed giving Parliament a greater say and adopting a more systematic approach to implementing inquiry recommendations.

Briefings / The Assisted Dying Bill: A guide to the Private Member's Bill process

This briefing explains what to watch for during the Second Reading debate of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November. It outlines the procedural and legislative issues that will come into play: the role of the Chair in managing the debate and how procedures such as the 'closure' and 'reasoned amendments' work. It looks ahead to the Committee and Report stage procedures that will apply if the Bill progresses beyond Second Reading. It also examines the government's responsibilities, such as providing a money resolution for the Bill and preparing an Impact Assessment, while addressing broader concerns about the adequacy of Private Members’ Bill procedures for scrutinising controversial issues.

News / The 'Musk Factor': Is the world's richest man driving Parliament's agenda? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 66

This week, we examine how Elon Musk’s tweets have steered the UK parliamentary agenda in the first sitting days of the New Year. From a viral petition demanding a general election, to intense debates on child sexual exploitation and grooming gangs, Musk’s influence has left its mark on this week’s key political discussions. Ruth and Mark also unpack the rise of identical parliamentary questions and share their plans to cover the Assisted Dying Bill’s next stages later this month.

News / Parliament's role in a failed state: A conversation with Sam Freedman - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 62

In this special episode of Parliament Matters, we sit down with author and researcher Sam Freedman to explore the themes of his book, Failed State. Freedman delivers a sharp critique of Britain’s governance, examining how bad laws and weak parliamentary scrutiny are contributing to systemic dysfunction.

News / Whipping Yarns: A rebel whip's tale - A conversation with former MP Steve Baker - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 65

In our latest ‘Whipping Yarn’ we sit down with Steve Baker, whose reputation as the "Hard Man of Brexit" made him a key figure in the UK’s departure from the EU. Baker reflects on his pivotal role as the "Rebel Commander" in orchestrating rebellions during the Brexit years, his methods of leadership, and the toll politics has taken on his mental health. The episode offers an unfiltered look into the mechanisms of political rebellion, party dynamics, and the personal costs of parliamentary life.