Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what factors she considered when considering the level of the core element of the Sovereign Grant.

The 2026 Review of the Sovereign Grant by the Royal Trustees was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Sovereign Grant Act 2011, which requires the Trustees to review the percentage used in the Sovereign Grant calculation formula.

In determining the appropriate percentage for the Sovereign Grant calculation formula, the Royal Trustees considered a range of factors. These included: how the Grant had been utilised since the previous review; the Royal Household's expected costs over the period 2027-28 to 2031-32, including planned maintenance work on the Occupied Royal Palaces, replacement of ageing legacy systems to strengthen cyber security, and work to install energy-efficient heating systems; and the expected future level of The Crown Estate's revenue account profit. The Trustees also took account of the fact that funding would no longer be required for the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme.

The Royal Trustees determined that a reference rate of 20.5 per cent was appropriate for the funding formula. The legislation the Government is bringing forward proposes to apply this percentage in calculating the Grant for 2027-28, resulting in an annual Grant amount of £99.9 million, compared with £137.9 million in 2026-27.