Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2020

JurisdictionNorthern Ireland
Citation2020 NI c 1


Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2020

2020 CHAPTER 1

An Act to authorise the issue out of the Consolidated Fund of certain sums for the service of the years ending 31 March 2020 and 2021; to appropriate those sums for specified purposes; to authorise the use for the public service of certain resources for those years; to revise the limits on the use of certain accruing resources in the year ending 31 March 2020; and to authorise the Department of Finance to borrow on the credit of the sum appropriated for the year ending 31 March 2021.

[26 March 2020]

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by Her Majesty as follows:

S-1 Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31 March 2020 and appropriation of that sum

1 Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31 March 2020 and appropriation of that sum

(1) The Department of Finance may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31 March 2020 the sum of £17,519,166,000.

(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 1.

(3) The authorisation and appropriations in this section supersede those made by section 4 of the Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2019 and section 1 of the Northern Ireland Budget Act 2019; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 2 of Schedule 1, any increase or decrease by virtue of this section in the amount appropriated is given in brackets after the amount.

S-2 Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in the year ending 31 March 2020

2 Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in the year ending 31 March 2020

(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the 2001 Act, this section authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31 March 2020 by the persons mentioned in subsection (3) to the amount of £21,022,321,000.

(2) In that year, resources may be used by a person mentioned in that subsection for the purposes specified in relation to that person in column 1 of Schedule 2 up to the amounts specified in the corresponding entries in column 2 of that Schedule.

(3) The persons are—

(a)

(a) the Northern Ireland departments;

(b)

(b) the Food Standards Agency;

(c)

(c) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;

(d)

(d) the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(e)

(e) the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;

(f)

(f) the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman;

(g)

(g) the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

(4) The authorisations in this section supersede those made by section 6 of the Northern Ireland Budget (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2019 and section 3 of the Northern Ireland Budget Act 2019; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 2 of Schedule 2, any increase or decrease by virtue of this section in the amount authorised is given in brackets after the amount.

(5) In this section “resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the 2001 Act.

S-3 Revised limits on use of certain accruing resources in the year ending 31 March 2020

3 Revised limits on use of certain accruing resources in the year ending 31 March 2020

(1) For the purposes of section 8(1) of the 2001 Act, this section sets the relevant limits on the accruing resources that may be directed to be used for certain purposes in the year ending 31 March 2020 in addition to resources authorised by this Act to be used for those purposes in that year.

(2) In that year accruing resources not exceeding the amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 2 may be directed to be used for the purposes specified in the corresponding entries in column 1 of that Schedule.

(3) The limits set by this section supersede those set by section 4 of the Northern Ireland Budget Act 2019; and, in relation to any amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 2, any increase or decrease by virtue of this section in the amount of the limit is given in brackets after the amount.

S-4 Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31 March 2021 and appropriation of that sum

4 Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31 March 2021 and appropriation of that sum

(1) The Department of Finance may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31 March 2021 the sum of £7,962,895,000.

(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 3.

S-5 Power of the Department of Finance to borrow

5 Power of the Department of Finance to borrow

(1) The Department of Finance may borrow on the credit of the sum specified in section 4 any sum or sums not exceeding in total £3,981,448,000.

(2) Any money so borrowed must be repaid, with any interest due on it, out of the Consolidated Fund not later than 31 March 2021.

S-6 Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in the year ending 31 March 2021

6 Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in the year ending 31 March 2021

(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the 2001 Act, this section authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31 March 2021 by the persons mentioned in subsection (3) to the amount of £9,054,440,000.

(2) In that year, resources may be used by a person mentioned in that subsection for the purposes specified in relation to that person in column 1 of Schedule 4 up to the amounts specified in the corresponding entries in column 2 of that Schedule.

(3) The persons are—

(a)

(a) the Northern Ireland departments;

(b)

(b) the Food Standards Agency;

(c)

(c) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;

(d)

(d) the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(e)

(e) the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation;

(f)

(f) the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman;

(g)

(g) the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland.

(4) In this section “resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the 2001 Act.

S-7 Interpretation

7 Interpretation

In this Act, “the 2001 Act” means the Government Resources and AccountsAct (Northern Ireland) 2001.

S-8 Short title

8 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2020.

SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 1

Sums granted for the year ending 31 March 2020

Purpose

Sums Granted

(£)

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AFFAIRS

For expenditure by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on the provision of agricultural, educational and knowledge transfer services, research and development and grants to societies, associations, institutions and clubs for agri-food purposes and rural development; provision of veterinary services including animal health and welfare, veterinary public health and official controls, development of international relations, international veterinary certification of live animals and animal products, payments of compensation to farmers for animals culled in disease control programmes; developing expertise in wildlife interventions; provision of policy support, future policy development and legislation for the agri-food and equine industries, veterinary medicines, antimicrobial resistance, dog control and rural needs; protection for all aspects of animal, bee and plant health and welfare; protection and conservation of sea fisheries, inland fisheries and aquaculture; grants and grants-in-aid for the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, the Loughs Agency of the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission; the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority, the Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland, the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside and the Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland; grants for scientific services by other bodies; providing hardship assistance; conservation; natural heritage; environmental legislation and protection; operation of the carrier bag levy; payments for Coastal Communities Fund projects; regulation, maintenance, protection, development and conservation of forests and preparation for wind-farm development; contingency planning and exercising; payments under European Union or Nationally Funded Farm Support Programmes including the Common Agricultural Policy and disallowance; payments to district councils and other approved delivery bodies; expenditure on activities and economic interventions, sector support payments that are required as a result of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union; administration costs and compensation payments.

300,551,000

(-24,727,000)

DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITIES

For expenditure by the Department for Communities on social security administration; payment of social security benefits, other benefits and National Insurance credits to people of working age, to pensioners and customers abroad and to people with disabilities and their carers, provision of grants, discretionary grants and loans and repayment of loans; loans for support for mortgage interest and certain home improvement loans; provision of youth and adult employment services programmes and skills training programmes; sums payable into the Social Fund for expenditure on grants, loans and payments; sums payable to the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund for associated statutory payments; payment of the cash value of European Commission officials transferable state pension rights to the pension scheme of the European Union Institution; employment schemes and services, including those for people with disabilities, and career information, advice and guidance services; promoting and protecting the interests of children, older people, people with disabilities, and other socially excluded groups; Financial Assistance Scheme; child maintenance service; housing services, including discretionary payments, loans and subsidies; housing led regeneration; regulation of the NI Housing Association sector; arts, creativity, museums, libraries, linguistic and cultural diversity, sport, recreation and other services; historic environment and payments to hold or support events...

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