The main estimates are documents setting out the proposed maximum spending of each Government department for a particular financial year, starting on 1 April. They are sometimes known as the supply estimates. The House of Commons must approve this expenditure.
The main estimates are usually published in April and approved in July.
Each ministerial and non-ministerial department has a separate estimate, although they are published as a single volume. Separate estimates are also presented for the House of Commons Administration, the National Audit Office, the Electoral Commission, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
You have the opportunity to debate the main estimates on two estimates days each session.