Main Estimates: Government spending plans for 2025/26

What are Estimates?

One of Parliament’s longest-standing functions is the consideration and authorisation of government’s spending plans, requiring the government to obtain parliamentary consent before spending public money. These are presented to Parliament in documents known as “Estimates”. There is a separate Estimate for each government department.

Estimates typically take place twice per financial year:

• May to June: Main Estimates (initial departmental spending plans)
• February to March: Supplementary Estimates (revised final departmental spending plans)

A previous Library briefing paper set out details of the government’s final spending plans for the previous financial year, 2024/25.

What has changed since last year?

The 2025/26 Main Estimates were published on 15 May 2025. They set the spending plans for 2025/26 financial year and are derived from the second year of Phase 1 of the Spending Review published by the government in Autumn 2024.

Compared to the final spending plans for 2024/25, overall spending in the 2025/26 Estimates has reduced by £19.7 billion (-1.7%). This is the net result of the following changes to the four budget categories:

• Resource DEL increases from £535.0 billion in 2024/25 to £543.8 billion in 2025/26 (+1.6%).
• Capital DEL increases from £114.6 billion in 2024/25 to £129.5 billion in 2025/26 (+13.0%).
• Resource AME decreases from £405.3 billion in 2024/25 to £365.1 billion in 2025/26 (-9.9%).
• Capital AME decreases from £73.6 billion in 2024/25 to £70.5 billion in 2025/26 (-3.1%).

The increase in core DEL funding is driven by significant funding uplifts in areas such as health, social care, local government and energy security/net zero. Cross-departmental expenditure was also driven upwards by changes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget.

Data in these Estimates, and previous editions, can be explored using our interactive data dashboard.

Parliament’s role in considering Estimates

The usual process for considering and approving Estimates is based around ‘Estimates Day(s)’, where Parliamentary time is given to the debate, consideration and approval of government spending plans. Before Estimates can be approved, Estimates Day debates take place on the floor of the House of Commons. Any backbench member may bid for a topic for one of these debates, which should be linked to the spending, or an aspect of spending, contained in the Main Estimate of a department or other body.

The Backbench Business Committee considers bids for debates at a meeting and decisions are announced in a Business Statement. Two days of debates are usually allocated for the Main Estimates.

Following the debates, the House is invited to agree motions on those Estimates selected for debate. Members may agree or reject these motions, or suggest amendments reducing expenditure. There is a further ‘roll up motion’ covering the remaining Estimates, which members may accept or reject. Under the ‘Crown prerogative’, only the government can propose spending, so amendments to increase spending are not permitted.

Once motions have been authorised, a Supply and Appropriation bill is presented. Unlike most bills, there is no committee stage, and as with other financial legislation the House of Lords’ role is purely formal. On receiving Royal Assent, departments are able to draw upon the agreed funds set out in the Act for the purposes Parliament has authorised. Advances from the Contingencies Fund are repaid.