What is the Budget? The Financial Statement, Budget debate and Finance Bill

Publications / Guides

What is the Budget?

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

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.

This guide is part of the collection: How does Parliament authorise the Government's taxation plans? A procedural guide to the Budget process

The Budget is usually held on a Wednesday, although there is no prohibition on it being held on another day of the week (the Budget of 29 October 2018, for example, was held on a Monday).

If it is held on a Wednesday, the Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer follows Prime Minister’s Questions. On any day, it would follow any Urgent Questions, ministerial statements and Points of Order, should there be any. There are no Ten Minute Rule Bill proceedings on Budget day.

The Statement and debate are usually chaired by the principal Deputy Speaker (who is also the Chair of Ways and Means), rather than the Speaker. (There have been occasional exceptions – the Speaker presided in 1968 and 1989.)

The Budget process has four key parliamentary stages:

The Financial Statement

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's statement to the House of Commons consists of two distinct elements:

an update on the state of the economy, and;
an outline of the government's taxation plans.

The Financial Statement and Budget Report (known as the Red Book) are laid before the House of Commons for scrutiny, accompanied by an array of supporting documentation including economic forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility , departmental press notices concerning the tax measures, policy costings, and data sources.

The Budget debate

Members of Parliament (MPs) consider the Financial Statement in a wide-ranging debate lasting four days. The debate is organised into topics, with each day dedicated to a particular policy theme or themes (for example, health, education, housing).

The Budget resolutions (‘Ways and Means’ resolutions)

Each individual tax or duty must be agreed in the form of ‘Ways and Means’ resolutions. These are put to the House of Commons as motions, which become resolutions once agreed, in the normal way.

The Finance Bill

Once the Budget resolutions have been agreed, these ‘charging’ or ‘founding’ resolutions form the basis of the Finance Bill. The Finance Bill cannot be introduced until the resolutions are agreed.

Last updated and citation

Last updated

08:06 am, 14 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)

In this collection

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

What is the budget?

Tulip Siddique MP in the House of Commons. ©UK Parliament

How do MPs scrutinise the Budget?

Tellers in the House of Commons Chamber. ©UK Parliament

How do MPs approve the Budget?

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeve MP speaking in the House of Commons Chamber. ©UK Parliament

Can MPs amend the Budget?

What is the Finance Bill?

Rishi Sunak at the Despatch Box during the Budget. ©UK Parliament

What principles and rules govern the Budget process?

← Back to the collection homepage

Latest / Highlights

News / Growing the Greens: Ellie Chowns MP on Parliament, polling and Zack Polanski - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 124

What is it like to be part of a small but growing parliamentary party? We talk with the leader of the Green Party group at Westminster, Ellie Chowns, about the challenges of operating with limited numbers, the practical realities of parliamentary life, and how institutional structures shape the influence of smaller parties. We discuss our political culture, the Greens’ approach to leadership, internal decision-making, and the party’s longer-term ambitions for electoral and parliamentary reform and a more representative system.

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 12-16 January 2026

The result of the election for the next Lord Speaker will be announced. In the Commons, Government amendments addressing the “family farm tax” will be considered during Committee Stage of the Finance (No. 2) Bill. The Hillsborough Law is expected to complete its remaining stages in the Commons, and the Sentencing and the Diego Garcia Bills the same in the Lords. Peers will consider the assisted dying bill for a sixth day in Committee. MPs will debate an e-petition calling for a new general election, new towns, financial support during the pandemic, and the importance of the Arctic and High North. Select Committees will hear evidence from former OBR chair Richard Hughes on the UK’s fiscal framework, two Cabinet Ministers on AI and copyright, and the Housing and Courts Ministers on their responsibilities.

News / Are UK elections under threat? A conversation with the chair of the Electoral Commission, John Pullinger - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 123

With the Government investigating allegations of foreign influence in British politics, we are joined by John Pullinger, Chair of the Electoral Commission, to take stock of the health and resilience of the UK’s electoral system. Our discussion ranges widely over the pressures facing elections and campaigning today, and what issues Parliament may need to grapple with in a future elections bill.

News / Is being Prime Minister an impossible job? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 121

Why do UK Prime Ministers seem to burn out so quickly? We are joined by historian Robert Saunders to examine why the role has become so punishing in recent years. From Brexit and COVID to fractured parties, rigid governing conventions and relentless media scrutiny, the discussion explores what has gone wrong – and what kind of leadership and political culture might be needed to make the job survivable again.

News / The King and Parliament: The relationship between politics and the royals - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 122

In this episode we are joined by author and former royal correspondent Valentine Low to explore the evolving relationship between Downing Street and the Palace and why it matters for Parliament. Drawing on his book Power and the Palace, we explore how royal influence has shifted from Queen Victoria’s overt political interventions to Elizabeth II’s studied neutrality. Along the way, we connect historical episodes – where monarchs helped shape diplomacy and constitutional outcomes – to today’s flashpoints, from the prorogation and dissolution of Parliament to referendums and royal finances and the looming constitutional headaches of future hung parliaments.