Annex D-House Resources
2014-15
In 2014-15 the resource estimate for running the
House (the buildings, staff and services) is £201.3 million,
with an additional capital estimate of £43 million, mostly
relating to the buildings occupied by the House. The resource
cost of the House is £2 million below the target set by the
Commission in 2010 to reduce the cost of the House by 17 per cent
in real terms by 2014/15. The cost of employing Members and their
staff, as well as paying the pensions of previous Members, are
dealt with separately and not included here (Member costs are
expected to be £207.5 million in 2014/15).[211]
The House of Commons administration is split into Departments.
The chart below shows planned resource spend by Department. 'Other'
includes the Office of the Chief Executive (£1.9m), the Speaker's
Office (£0.5m) and other central provisions and programmes.
Changes in the House Service over time
The cost of the House of Commons has fallen since
2010, along with the number of people employed by the House. Comparisons
of expenditure over time can be difficult as the services the
House provides have changed (normally providing more), and the
introduction of resource accounting in 2000 means prior years
are not directly comparable. The chart below shows the change
in the expenditure of the House since 1990 (with capital spend
excluded after 2000); the staff costs are also shown since 2000.
In each of the years shown since 2000 the resource expenditure
of the House is affected by large non-cash items, primarily around
the valuation of the estate and pensions. In three cases the figure
has been adjusted for these. The House's savings programme started
in 2010 and the outturn for that year includes the effect of initial
savings.[212]
Recent reports of the Finance and Services Committee[213]
have shown the savings made by the House on a consistent basis.
The change in staff numbers tracks the growth of
the House administration and the chart below tracks the change
since 1990 (although in 1990 the figure excluded works and maintenance
staff who were employed by the Government at the time).
211 House of Commons Finance and Services Committee,
First Report of Session 2014-15, House of Commons Financial Plan 2015/16- 2018/19, including draft Estimates for 2015/16,
HC 757 Back
212
Three significant adjustments relating to pensions/property in
2005/06 (actual £321m), 2009/10 (£279m) and 2010/11
(£170m) have been removed from the data used. These are indicted
by a * in the chart. The sources for these charts are the House of Commons Commission Annual Reports and Accounts. Back
213
See: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/finance-and-services-committee/
Back
| 
