With cuts in the air, it’s time to get across how much money DfE actually receives and spends – and where.
The Estimates system remains the nominal means by which the House of Commons scrutinises and approves departmental spending plans. It is obscure, complex, and little understood – I’d point to the always superb House of Commons Library who provide a very readable briefing on the process, which ends with the little-noticed passage of a Supply and Appropriation Bill.
The documents produced during the Estimates process remain the most readable version of what money each department spends in a given year. In contrast, since 1997, spending reviews set a multi-year funding envelope.
