The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government (Mark Drakeford AM) laid the First Supplementary Budget 2016-17 on 21 June 2016.
This was accompanied by an explanatory note and tables showing departmental allocations. This supplementary budget amends the Final Budget 2016-17, approved by the previous Assembly in March 2016. The Assembly’s Finance Committee will be taking evidence from the Cabinet Secretary to scrutinise the allocations made in the supplementary budget next week. There will be a debate and vote in plenary to authorise the supplementary budget motion on 12 July.
This supplementary budget sets out how the Welsh Government will allocate over £16 billion in 2016-17.
Of this, £14.5 billion has been allocated to Welsh Government Departments (known as DEL). Of the remaining £1.5 billion, around £1 billion relates to forecast business rates receipts that will be redistributed amongst local authorities and £0.5 billion is other Annually Managed Expenditure (known as AME), which is demand led and the Welsh Government has no discretion over how this funding is spent. In addition, £0.6 billion funding is retained as a central reserve for allocation later in the financial year. Details of allocations to departments are set out in the infographic below.
The main purpose of this supplementary budget is a restructure to reflect the Ministerial portfolio changes of the new Welsh Government. Additionally, a small number of allocations have been made from reserves to reflect allocations made by the previous Welsh Government that were not in the Final Budget. These allocations total £21.5 million in revenue and just under £9 million capital. The revenue allocations include:
- £10 million to the Education MEG for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW). Of this, £5 million will be allocated to support part-time study at universities and the remaining £5 million will fund research.
- £7.7 million to the Central Services and Administration MEG to cover the costs of the elections to the National Assembly for Wales held in May 2016;
- £2.3 million to the Environment and Rural Affairs MEG for flood defences; and
- £1.5 million for the business rates relief scheme announced for the Port Talbot Waterfront Enterprise Zone.
The capital allocations include:
- Three allocations to the Environment and Rural Affairs MEG, including £5 million to flood and coastal risk management schemes across Wales, £2.5 million for the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal and £985,000 for the Tal-y-bont flood alleviation scheme.
- £500,000 to the Economy and Infrastructure MEG for drainage improvements on the A55.
Article by Gareth Thomas and David Millett, National Assembly for Wales Research Service
