Publications / Guides

What is the Budget?

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

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

  1. an update on the state of the economy, and;

  2. 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.

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).

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.

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.

08:06 am, 14 March 2023

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

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 30 June - 4 July 2025

MPs will vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. Motions objecting to ratification of the UK–Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago will be debated by Peers. MPs will debate the proscription of Palestine Action. Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces MPs’ oral questions and the Defence Secretary John Healey MP faces select committee scrutiny. MPs will formally approve the continued existence of the armed forces for the next 12 months, as required annually. Consideration of the Bill to create an Armed Forces Commissioner may also be completed this week. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill returns to the Lords for Report Stage while Peers will also scrutinise the Renters’ Rights and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

29 Jun 2025
Read more

News / What Westminster gets wrong about the NHS - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 98

We are joined this week by two guests who bring invaluable insight into the intersection of health policy and parliamentary life. Dr. Sarah Wollaston and Steve Brine – both former MPs, health policy experts, and co-hosts of the podcast Prevention is the New Cure – share their experiences of how the House of Commons handles health and social care. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

27 Jun 2025
Read more

News / Assisted dying bill: Special series #14 - MPs back assisted dying bill in historic vote - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 97

This week, we reflect on a landmark moment in UK parliamentary history: the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons, moving one step closer to legalising assisted dying in England and Wales. We are joined once again by former House of Commons Clerk Paul Evans to examine how this Private Member’s Bill navigated the political and procedural obstacles in its path and to explore what lies ahead in the House of Lords. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

21 Jun 2025
Read more

Guides / How does Parliament approve Government spending? A procedural guide to the Estimates process

In order to incur expenditure the Government needs to obtain approval from Parliament for its departmental spending plans. The annual Estimates cycle is the means by which the House of Commons controls the Government’s plans for the spending of money raised through taxation.

16 Jan 2023
Read more

Blog / What role does Parliament play in the Spending Review?

The UK Spending Review outlines how Government funds will be allocated over several years. Unlike the Budget, which raises revenue, the Review decides how it is spent. But how is it approved? What role does Parliament play if it doesn’t vote on the Review itself? This blog explores how the Spending Review works, how it differs from the Budget, and how Parliament holds the Government to account through the Estimates process.

09 Jun 2025
Read more