Each year, HM Treasury seeks parliamentary approval for any overspends against expenditure limits incurred by government bodies, known as ‘excess votes’. Approval of excess votes is through a motion put to the House without debate, provided that the Committee of Public Accounts has no objection.
Where these limits, approved by Parliament, were exceeded, the C&AG qualifies his audit opinion in respect of the regularity of these transactions as Parliament had not approved these excesses during the financial year as part of the normal Supplementary Estimates process. In each case, the C&AG provides a report to the House of Commons setting out more fully the reasons for each exceeded vote.