Home Office 2015-16 Funding

Baroness May of Maidenhead Excerpts

Friday 11th March 2016 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

The Home Office is seeking an advance of £195,000,000 (one hundred and ninety five million pounds) in 2015-16 from the Contingencies Fund under Category D of the Supply Estimates Guidance Manual to meet its cash funding obligations. Contingency funds are used as standard across government to cover cash flow pressures and in this case will be repaid to HM Treasury before the end of the financial year.

The Home Office has come under significant cash funding pressure towards the end of the 2015- 16 financial year. A number of core and policing pressures have contributed to this. The Department pays out a large proportion of its monthly cash requirement (predominantly police related) within the first week of the month. This leads to a funding shortfall at the start of March, until the additional funds secured through the Supplementary Estimates become available towards the end of the month. Parliamentary approval for additional net cash requirement of £1,328,197,000 (one billion, three hundred and twenty eight million, one hundred and ninety seven thousand pounds) has been sought in a Supplementary Estimate for the Home Office. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £195,000,000 (one hundred and ninety five million pounds) will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.

[HCWS614]