Publications / Guides

How does Parliament authorise the Government's taxation plans? A procedural guide to the Budget process

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt walks outside Downing Street with the Budget box. ©HM Treasury / Zara Farrar
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt walks outside Downing Street with the Budget box. ©HM Treasury / Zara Farrar

What is the Budget?

In order to raise income, the government needs to obtain approval from Parliament for its taxation plans. The Budget is the means by which the House of Commons considers the government’s plans to impose 'charges on the people' and its assessment of the wider state of the economy.

The Budget is usually held on a Wednesday after Prime Minister’s Questions and is usually followed by four days of debate in the House of Commons. The Budget process has four key parliamentary stages: the financial statement; the Budget debate; the Budget resolutions and the Finance Bill.

Read the guide
Tulip Siddique MP in the House of Commons Chamber, 8 June 2022. ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

How do MPs scrutinise the Budget?

The Financial Statement is usually followed by four days of debate on the Budget. The debate enables MPs to consider the government’s proposals for charges, the role that these charges play in the context of the tax system as a whole, and whether the revenue raised is sufficient given the government’s expenditure plans.

Read the guide
Tellers at the table of the House of Commons announcing the result of a division. ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

How do MPs approve the Budget?

MPs agree a Provisional Collection of Taxes motion which provides provisional authority for changes in taxes and duties that the government proposes should take effect on Budget day or soon after. Dozens of Ways and Means resolutions are also required to provide parliamentary authority for individual tax measures.

Read the guide
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP speaking in the House of Commons Chamber, 23 March 2022. ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

Can MPs amend the Budget?

MPs can propose amendments only to the first Budget motion. Any of the other Budget motions can be voted upon but they cannot be amended. Under Standing Order No. 51(3) where there is a series of motions the second and subsequent motions have to be put ‘forthwith’ – that is, without amendment or debate.

Read the guide

What is the Finance Bill?

The government’s taxation plans, as set out in the Budget, require statutory (that is, legislative) authority. The Finance Bill provides this. Once the Budget resolutions have been agreed by the House of Commons at the end of the Budget debate, these ‘charging’ or ‘founding’ resolutions form the basis of the Finance Bill.

Read the guide
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP in the House of Commons Chamber, 1 March 2023. ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

What principles and rules govern the Budget process?

Parliament’s scrutiny and authorisation of the government’s taxation plans is fundamental to the political system. As the public’s representative body, it is Parliament’s responsibility to hold government to account – between elections – for the money it raises and spends.

Read the guide

Last updated and citation

8:15pm, 11 March 2023

Cite this page

Hansard Society (2022), How does Parliament authorise the Government's taxation plans? A procedural guide to the Budget process, (Hansard Society: London)

Latest / Highlights

Blog / How should Parliament handle the Seventh Carbon Budget - and why does it matter?

The Climate Change Act 2008 established a framework for setting carbon budgets every five years. But the role of Parliament in approving these budgets has been widely criticised, including by the Prime Minister. The Environmental Audit Committee has proposed improvements in the scrutiny process to ensure effective climate action, particularly in the context of the UK’s commitment to achieving 'Net Zero' emissions by 2050. These reforms will significantly alter the way Parliament handles the Seventh Carbon Budget in 2025.

18 Apr 2024
Read more

Events / The inaugural Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture, to be given by the Rt Hon Theresa May MP

To mark the Hansard Society’s 80th anniversary we are launching the Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in honour of our first members, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. The inaugural lecture will be given by former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Theresa May MP. This is a fundraising event for our 80th Anniversary Appeal. Date & location: Tuesday 14 May 2024, 7:00-8:15pm, Westminster (venue to be announced) Tickets: £25

04 Apr 2024
Read more

News / Tobacco and Vapes Bill: free vote blows smoke in Rishi Sunak's eyes - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 30

Rishi Sunak offered his MPs a free vote on his flagship Tobacco and Vapes Bill and dozens concluded they could not support it. As well as exploring the politics of the Bill, Ruth and Mark discuss the concept of a free vote and how they have been deployed in previous parliamentary sessions.

19 Apr 2024
Read more

Guides / Private Members' Bills (PMBs)

Private Members' Bills (PMBs) are bills introduced by MPs and Peers who are not government ministers. The procedures, often a source of controversy, are different to those that apply for government bills. Below are 7 short guides that explain key aspects of the process, as well as data on the number of PMBs that are successful each Session, and our proposals for reform of the PMB system.

Read more

Blog / Two Houses go to war: the Safety of Rwanda Bill and the origins of the Parliament Act

The Parliament Act is being bandied about in the media again in connection with the Rwanda Bill. This blogpost explains why the Parliament Act cannot be used in relation to the Rwanda Bill and looks at the origins and key features of the Act to place the current debate about the role of the House of Lords in its historical context.

25 Mar 2024
Read more

Categories

Themes

Contact

Legal

Fundraising Regulator logo