The Contingencies Fund Act 2021 (2021 c. 9) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed for a temporary increase in the maximum capital of the United Kingdom's contingency fund from 2%, as set out in Section 1 of the

Contingencies Fund Act 1974 A contingencies fund or contingency fund is a fund for emergencies or unexpected outflows, mainly economic crises. European Union The European Union created a vast contingency fund in 2010 to counteract the Great Recession. India The Constit ...

, to 12%. It was introduced by

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

in response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

The Contingencies Fund was established in 1862 by HM Treasury, and allows governmental departments to access cash advances when money for urgent matters is likely to achieve parliamentary approval, but is needed quickly. Usually, the

requires that the permanent capital of the fund not exceed 2% of the authorised supply expenditure of the previous financial year. Because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the

Contingencies Fund Act 2020 The Contingencies Fund Act 2020 (c. 6) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was created to increase the maximum capital of the United Kingdom's contingency fund from 2%, as set out in Section 1 of the Contingencies Fund Act 1 ...

increased the fund's limit from 2% to 50% but was due to expire on 1 April 2021; this legislation provides an extension to the fund limit increase.

Passage through Parliament

The bill was introduced in the Commons for its first reading on 9 March 2021. It had its second and third readings on 11 March, and was passed to the

Lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina * Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 1 ...

for its first reading the same day. The bill passed all its remaining readings on 12 March and was given royal assent on 15 March.

Provisions

The Act's sole provision was a temporary increase to the contingency fund limit set out in the

from 2% to 12% (increasing the fund from £17.5 billion to £105 billion). The increase automatically expires on 1 April 2022.

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2021 COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom Law associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom Economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic