SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATE 2022-23

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

That, for the year ending with 31 March 2023, for expenditure by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities:

(1) the resources authorised for current purposes be reduced by £2,074,000 as set out in HC 1133,

(2) the resources authorised for capital purposes be reduced by £2,428,760,000 as so set out, and

(3) the sum authorised for issue out of the Consolidated Fund be reduced by £4,454,598,000.

Department for Education

That, for the year ending with 31 March 2023, for expenditure by the Department for Education:

(1) further resources, not exceeding £3,096,686,000, be authorised for use for current purposes as set out in HC 1133,

(2) the resources authorised for capital purposes be reduced by £1,580,042,000 as so set out, and

(3) a further sum, not exceeding £145,625,000, be granted to His Majesty to be issued by the Treasury out of the Consolidated Fund and applied for expenditure on the use of resources authorised by Parliament.

With the leave of the House, I will put the Questions on motions 2 to 7 together.

Estimates 2023-24 (NAVY) VOTE A

That, during the year ending with 31 March 2024, a number not exceeding 39,550 all ranks be maintained for Naval and Marine Service and that numbers in the Reserve Naval and Marines Forces be authorised for the purposes of Parts 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 up to the maximum numbers set out in Votes A 2023–24, HC 1036.

ESTIMATES 2023-24 (ARMY) VOTE A

Resolved,

That, during the year ending with 31 March 2024, a number not exceeding 102,250 all ranks be maintained for Army Service and that numbers in the Reserve Land Forces be authorised for the purposes of Parts 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 up to the maximum numbers set out in Votes A 2023–24, HC 1036.

ESTIMATES 2023-24 (AIR) VOTE A

That, during the year ending with 31 March 2024, a number not exceeding 36,500 all ranks be maintained for Air Force Service and that numbers in the Reserve Air Forces be authorised for the purposes of Parts 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 up to the maximum numbers set out in Votes A 2023–24, HC 1036.

ESTIMATES, EXCESSES 2021-22

That, for the year ending with 31 March 2022, resources, not exceeding £2,457,088,000, be authorised to make good excesses for use for current purposes as set out in the Statement of Excesses 2021–22, HC 1135.

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I apologise for not having given you prior notice of this, but I was calculating up the numbers in the motions we have just passed. The House has approved expenditure of around £882,593,848,000, and we did it in slightly less than a minute. We are in the remarkable position where we can debate estimates on estimates days, which has not always been the case in the past in this place, but I wonder whether anyone else has recently expressed to you the possible inadequacy of the scrutiny of Government expenditure, and the allocation and approval of such expenditure, through the estimates process.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that point of order. I am not sure whether he spoke in the earlier debates today—

There was an opportunity to speak—[Interruption.] Excuse me—I can handle this, thank you. There was an opportunity to speak earlier had the hon. Gentleman wished to do so. However, he has put his point on the record, and perhaps in future he might like to speak in the debates themselves. I recommend it—it was a very interesting debate.