Policy background
Ordinarily the passage of a Budget Act to authorise the issue of sums from the Consolidated Fund of Northern Ireland would be taken through the Northern Ireland Assembly following the agreement of a budget by the Northern Ireland Executive. However, there have been no functioning devolved institutions in Northern Ireland since 3 February 2022, when the then First Minister of Northern Ireland resigned, which also resulted in the deputy First Minister ceasing to hold office. The Executive failed to form after the 5 May 2022 Assembly elections and the subsequent failures to elect a Speaker means that the Assembly cannot conduct any business so it falls to Parliament to legislate to provide authority for departmental expenditure in Northern Ireland.
	The Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Budget Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 on 8 March 2022 to provide the authorisations and appropriations for the revised amounts required for the full 2021/22 financial year and also provided authorisations and appropriations for a vote on account. This was to allow Northern Ireland departments and other public bodies to continue to deliver public services in the early months of the 2022/23 financial year prior to a Budget Act being passed.
	This vote on account provided access to cash and resources, approximately 45% of the amount authorised for the previous financial year, to ensure that services could continue to be delivered pending the passing of a Budget Act by the Northern Ireland Assembly for the full 2022/23 financial year.
	In the absence of a Budget Act and in anticipation of the amounts authorised and appropriated in the vote on account being exhausted, the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland exercised the emergency powers under section 59 of the Northern Ireland Act 19981 and section 7 of the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 20012 in order to allow services to continue to be delivered in Northern Ireland. These powers have a limit of up to 95% of the previous year’s funding envelope and cannot authorise the use of accruing resources3.
	The Act will provide the authorisations and appropriations for the balance for the full 2022/23 financial year. The figures in this Act are based on the Budget announced in Parliament in a Written Ministerial Statement by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 24 November 2022.
	This Act is a necessary step to ensure that public services can continue to be provided in Northern Ireland. It will require devolved spending decisions to be made by senior officers of Northern Ireland departments as provided for by the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022.
	No new money will be allocated as a result of the Act. Instead it will appropriate sums provided to the Consolidated Fund of Northern Ireland through the UK Estimates process, together with revenue generated within Northern Ireland under the Assembly’s devolved powers.