Transparency (Open Budget Index) 75/100
The Government of the United Kingdom provides the public with substantial budget information.
Public Participation 58/100
The Government of the United Kingdom provides the public with limited opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 45/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in the United Kingdom is limited.
By auditor 92/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in the United Kingdom is adequate.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
The United Kingdom should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive’s Budget Proposal by presenting detailed spending information, including medium term estimates at a program level.
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Enacted Budget.
Improving Participation
The United Kingdom should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e., public hearings, surveys, focus groups) for capturing a range of public perspectives on budget matters. For example, HM Treasury could broaden its consultation practices, which currently focus on taxation, to seek public input on significant changes in public spending.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Provide detailed feedback on how public assistance and participation has been used by the supreme audit institution.
Improving Oversight
The United Kingdom should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Ensure the Executive’s Budget Proposal is provided to legislators at least three months before the start of the budget year.
- In both law and practice, ensure the legislature is consulted prior to the spending of contingency funds that were not identified in the Enacted Budget.