Estimates

Each department of the Velocity Interoperability Network submits an estimate of its expenditure for the coming financial year to the Department by 1 September. The estimates are the basis of the draft budget circulated to member organisations on 1 October, and of the allocation each department receives once the budget is approved. This page is the Department's guidance for departments on preparing an estimate.

An estimate is a statement of what the department needs to carry out its responsibilities for a year, not a bid. The Department consolidates the estimates into a single draft budget and, because the budget is met by the contributions of members, every credit a department asks for is a credit assessed on a member. Departments are asked to prepare their estimates with that in mind.

Preparing the estimate. The steps below apply to every department. For 2027 the first step has already been taken: indicative estimates were received under the interim arrangements on 1 September 2026, and departments have until 20 September 2026 to confirm or revise them.

1. 1

   Step 1: Start from the baseline

   The baseline for each department is its allocation for the current year, stated at a full-year rate. For 2027 the baseline is the transitional allocation for 6 September to 31 December 2026 multiplied by three, which the Department circulated to each department on 1 September 2026.

2. 2

   Step 2: Classify every item to a budget line

   Each item of expenditure is assigned to one of the four spending lines: shared services, departments and offices, standards, or audit and oversight. A department may not propose expenditure on the reserve fund line.

3. 3

   Step 3: Separate continuing from new expenditure

   Expenditure that continues an existing activity is shown separately from expenditure on an activity the department has not carried out before. New activities are described in Part E of the estimate with the authority under which the department proposes to carry them out.

4. 4

   Step 4: Explain every significant change

   Any line that differs from the baseline by more than five per cent or by more than 50,000 credits, whichever is smaller, is explained in a short note stating the reason for the change and its effect in later years.

5. 5

   Step 5: State the income the department expects

   Fees and charges that a department collects for its services are paid into the common fund and reduce the contributions required from members. The department states the income it expects, with the basis of the estimate, in Part F.

6. 6

   Step 6: Certify and submit

   The head of the department certifies that the estimate is complete and that the expenditure proposed is within the department's responsibilities, and submits it to the Department by 1 September.

7. 7

   Step 7: Answer queries

   The Department may raise queries on any part of an estimate. Departments answer within ten working days so that the draft budget can be circulated on 1 October.

The form of the estimate. Estimates are submitted in seven parts. The Department circulates the form to each department with the baseline on 1 September and accepts completed estimates by email.

The timetable for 2027. Because the departments were established on 6 September 2026, after the ordinary date for estimates, the timetable for the first annual budget has been adjusted as shown below. From 2027 onwards the ordinary dates on The Financial Year page apply.

How estimates are reviewed. The Department reviews every estimate against the five tests below before consolidating it into the draft budget. Where an estimate does not meet a test, the Department raises a query with the department rather than amending the figures itself.

Responsibility

Whether each item falls within the responsibilities of the department as established on 6 September 2026. Expenditure on a matter that belongs to another department is referred to that department.

Continuity

Whether the estimate carries forward the activities the department is already committed to, at a realistic cost, before proposing new ones.

Value

Whether the cost proposed is reasonable for the activity, having regard to the cost of comparable activities in other departments and to the terms on which the Network buys shared services.

Deliverability

Whether the department has the staff, premises and authority to spend the amount proposed within the year, so that the budget does not carry allocations that cannot be used.

Income

Whether the income the department expects to collect is stated on a sound basis, since it reduces the contributions assessed on members.

Questions from departments. The questions below have been put to the Department by departments preparing their first estimates.

Once the budget is approved, expenditure against each allocation is reported on the Spending page. Departments with a question about their estimate should write to contact@treasury.gov.vin; questions from member organisations about the budget are answered on the Frequently Asked Questions page.