The Budget (Scotland) Act 2007 Amendment Order 2007

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Budget (Scotland) Act 2007 (“the 2007 Act”), which makes provision, for the financial year 2007/08, for the use of resources by the Scottish Administration and certain bodies whose expenditure is payable out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund, for authorising the use of resources, and for limits on the capital expenditure and borrowing of local authorities and certain other public bodies.

It aligns the Scottish Government’s management systems and structures more closely with the new administration’s objectives. The Order reflects the reallocation of resources from the former Scottish Executive Departments to the new Scottish Government portfolios.

In particular, this Order amends the 2007 Act so as to–

(a)alter the overall cash authorisations in respect of three of the five bodies referred to in section 3 (article 2);

(b)restate the purposes for which resources may be used in accordance with section 1 and schedule 1 (article 3(2));

(c)restate the amount of resources other than accruing resources that may be used for the purposes set out in schedule 1 (article 3(3));

(d)restate the type of accruing resources which may be used in accordance with section 1 and schedule 1 (article 3(4));

(e)restate the amounts of accruing resources in schedule 1 (article 3(5)).

(f)remove types of accruing resources, and their corresponding purposes, which may be used without individual limit respectively in relation to the Rural Affairs and the Environment portfolio (article 4(2)(b)), the Health and Wellbeing portfolio (article 4(3)(c) and (d)), the Education and Lifelong Learning portfolio (article 4(4)(b)) and the Finance and Sustainable Growth portfolio (article 4(11)(1));

(g)add types of accruing resources, and their corresponding purposes, which may be used without individual limit respectively in relation to the Health and Wellbeing portfolio (article 4(3)(e)), the Education and Lifelong Learning portfolio (article 4(4)(b)) and the Finance and Sustainable Growth portfolio (article 4(11)(c));

(h)remove Part 4 (Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department) and Part 5 (Scottish Executive Health Department) and add a new Part 13 (Office of the First Minister) to schedule 2 (accruing resources of the Scottish Administration which may be used without individual limit) (article 4(5), (6) and (12)); and

(i)alter the overall amounts of accruing resources that may be used without individual limit respectively in relation to the Health and Wellbeing portfolio (article 4(3)(f)), the Education and Lifelong Learning portfolio (article 4(4)(c)), the Justice portfolio (article 4(7)(b)), the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages (article 4(9)) and the Finance and Sustainable Growth portfolio (article 4(11)(d)).

The attached table provides reconciliation between the budgets for the former Scottish Executive Departments and the new Scottish government portfolios.