Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015

Issue of sum out of the Consolidated Fund for the year ending 31st March 2016 and appropriation of that sum

1.—(1) The Department of Finance and Personnel may issue out of the Consolidated Fund and apply to the service of the year ending 31st March 2016 the sum of £8,336,067,000.

(2) That sum is appropriated for the purposes specified in Schedule 1.

Power of the Department of Finance and Personnel to borrow

2.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Department of Finance and Personnel may borrow on the credit of the sum specified in section 1 any sum or sums not exceeding in the whole £4,168,033,500.

(2) Any money so borrowed shall be repaid, with any interest due thereon, out of the Consolidated Fund not later than 31st March 2016.

Use of resources (other than accruing resources) in year ending 31st March 2016

3.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the 2001 Act, this section authorises the use of resources in the year ending 31st March 2016.

(2) The use of resources by—

(a) the Northern Ireland departments mentioned in Schedule 2;

(b) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission;

(c) the Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints;

(d) the Food Standards Agency;

(e) the Northern Ireland Audit Office;

(f) the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation; and

(g) the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland,

in that year is authorised to the amount of £9,004,299,000.

(3) In that year, resources may be used by a Northern Ireland department or a body or person mentioned in subsection (2) for the purposes specified in relation to that department, body or person in column 1 of Schedule 2 up to the amounts specified in the corresponding entries in column 2 of that Schedule.

Limit on use of accruing resources in year ending 31st March 2016

4.—(1) For the purposes of section 8(1) of the 2001 Act, this section sets the relevant limits on the accruing resources that may be directed to be used for certain purposes in the year ending 31st March 2016 in addition to resources authorised by this Act or any other statutory provision to be used for those purposes in that year.

(2) In that year accruing resources not exceeding the amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 2 may be directed to be used for the purposes specified in the corresponding entries in column 1 of that Schedule.

Resource excesses for the year ending 31st March 2014

5.—(1) For the purposes of section 6(1) of the 2001 Act, this section authorises the use of resources by the Department of Education and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to the amount of £7,444,446.68 in the year ending 31st March 2014.

(2) In that year, resources may be used by a department mentioned in subsection (1) for the purposes specified in relation to that department in column 1 of Schedule 3 up to the amounts specified in the corresponding entries in column 2 of that Schedule.

(3) Those resources are additional to any resources or accruing resources authorised by or under any other statutory provision to be used for those purposes in that year.

Repeal of spent provisions

6.  The statutory provisions mentioned in Schedule4 are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the second column of that Schedule.

Interpretation

7.—(1) In this Act—

“the 2001 Act” means the Government Resources and Accounts Act (Northern Ireland) 2001;

“resources” does not include accruing resources within the meaning of section 8(1) of the 2001 Act;

“statutory provision” has the same meaning as in section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.

Short title

8.  This Act may be cited as the Budget (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015.