Scottish Budget 2021 to 2022: final outturn report

Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts

6. The scope of the Scottish Government's Consolidated Accounts is determined by the requirements of the Government's Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) and covers elements not included within HM Treasury fiscal totals.

7. The Scottish Government's 2021-22 Consolidated Accounts^[1] reports a final expenditure outturn of £49.2 billion against the approved budget of £51.2 billion, generating an underspend of £1,988 million.

8. Taking into account other bodies included within the Scottish Administration boundary, the position shows final expenditure outturn of £55.5 billion against the approved Parliamentary budget of £57.5 billion, generating an underspend of £2,082 million.

9. The inclusion of the directly-funded bodies completes the picture. The overall reported position for the total Scottish Budget in 2021-22 shows an expenditure outturn of £55.6 billion against the approved Parliamentary budget of £57.7 billion. This results in an underspend of £2,087 million which represents just over 3 per cent of budget. Table 1 below provides further detail, note figures provided are as reported in the audited accounts in each body.

10. The total underspend of £2,087 million does not represent a loss of spending power to the Scottish Government.

11. Significant underspends relate to ring-fenced, non-cash budgets or Annually Managed Expenditure:

a. £569 million relates to ring-fenced non-cash budgets, of which the majority of the underspend is in relation to the Student Loan Valuation model and is a direct reflection of the late movement in the Resource Accounting and Budgeting Charge (RAB) and Stock charges relating to Student Loans. The Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge is the estimated cost to Government of borrowing to support the student finance system. This is a non-cash movement, representing an adjustment to the impairment of student loans based on economist expectations of likely repayments.

b. £314 million relates to Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) budgets which are ring-fenced budgets set by HM Treasury. Any under/overspends shown against UK-funded Annually Managed Expenditure cannot be deposited in the Scotland Reserve and have no subsequent impact on the Scottish Budget. These budgets are not available for general public services. 

12. £699 million is carried forward in the Scotland Reserve, the majority of which had been anticipated and therefore included in our 2022-23 funding position.

13. £559 million are adjustments to funding actioned post completion of the Spring Budget Revision and therefore not reflected in the Scottish Budget.