Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which (a) UK Government, (b) devolved and (c) local authority agencies have powers to defer borrowing from one year to the next.

The ability to borrow direct from markets is highly restricted in government. Government borrowings are largely made up of gilts held by the National loans fund, National savings and Investment products held by the National loans fund and Treasury bills held by the Debt Management Account. This is managed by the debt management office , who publish an annual Debt management report to provide transparency on debt financing.

Managing Public Money (paragraph 5.8, 5.9 and Annex 5.5) set out the rules for central government bodies in respect of borrowing. Treasury approval for borrowing from the National Loans Fund requires Treasury consent and specific legal powers (MPM 5.8.1). External borrowing also requires Treasury approval (MPM 5.9.1). Loan guarantees require provisions in estimates, specific statutory powers and Treasury approval.

Local authorities are responsible for managing their own borrowing plans. Local authorities are not supposed to knowingly borrow in advance of need.

The borrowing caps for the Scottish and Welsh Governments are set out in the respective fiscal framework documents while the borrowing cap for the Northern Ireland Executive is agreed with the Chief Secretary as part of spending review negotiations. The devolved administrations do not have the flexibility to defer borrowing from one year to the next.