Review of the Budget Process Protocol

The Finance Committee is holding an inquiry to review the Budget Process Protocol.

Budget Process Protocol 

The Senedd and the Welsh Government have agreed a budget process protocol (PDF, 310KB). 

The protocol is required under Standing Order 20.1A and supplements the Senedd’s finance procedures, set out under Standing Orders 19 and 20. 

The current protocol was agreed by the then Assembly on 21 June 2017. 

Review of the Budget Process Protocol 

Paragraph 41 of the protocol states that changes to it may be proposed by the Welsh Government or the Finance Committee. 

Discussions relating to reviewing the Protocol and the Senedd’s budget procedures more widely have been a regular feature of the Finance Committee’s deliberations during the Sixth Senedd to date, and subject to correspondence with the Welsh Government and Directly Funded Bodies (DFBs). 

On 24 June 2022, the Committee wrote to the Minister confirming that the Committee would review the Protocol during the current Senedd to ensure that it remains fit for purpose, and detailed proposals to change the Protocol was included in a letter to the Minister on 9 December 2022. 

A response from the Minister, outlining detailed proposals for change was received on 20 July 2023. 

The DFBs were consulted on the proposed changes to the Protocol on 23 February 2024, and on 26 June 2024 the Committee agreed in principle to produce a report later in the Senedd term, subject to the views of the Welsh Government, incorporating recommendations relating to changing the protocol, amending the supplementary budget Standing Orders and reviewing of the Statement of Principles, given the interrelationship between the three strands.