require cabinet but not legislative approval; and (iv) adjustments that require prior legislative approval. There should also be clearly defined rules limiting the executive’s discretion to present amendments to budget appropriations for retroactive approval by the legislature (also refer to PI-21.4). There must also be evidence that the rules are being complied with.
18.4:4. Cases where the executive fails to execute the budget in a manner consistent with the approved budget, as voted by the legislature, should be considered as in-year amendments to the approved budget, and would warrant a D rating for this dimension.
18.4:5. For an A score, ‘strict limits on the nature of amendments’ are rules or regulations that, either allow certain types of reallocation (e.g., transfers within the same program, transfers to capital investments, etc.), prohibit certain types of reallocation (e.g., transfers from capital investment, transfers to salary expenditure, transfers between budgetary units or programs for prohibited reallocations, etc.), and/or set limits for the magnitude of reallocations. The significance of these reallocations is assessed in relation to the percentages specified in the PI-2 rating criteria. A prohibition of the expansion of total expenditure is not sufficient to comply with this requirement.
Dimension 18.4. Scoring
| Score | Minimum requirements for scores |
|---|---|
| A | Clear rules exist for in-year budget adjustments by the executive. The rules set strict limits on the extent and nature of amendments and are adhered to in all instances. |
| B | Clear rules exist for in-year budget adjustments by the executive, and are adhered to in most instances. Extensive administrative reallocations may be permitted. |
| C | Clear rules exist which may be adhered to in some instances or they may allow extensive administrative reallocation as well as expansion of total expenditure. |
| D | Performance is less than required for a C score |
Dimension 18.4. Timing, coverage and data requirements
| Time period | Coverage | Data requirements/calculation | Data sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last completed fiscal year. | BCG. |
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Pillar Four: Policy Based Fiscal Strategy and Budgeting
