Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost to the Exchequer of the operations of Parliament in (1) 2013–14, and (2) 1983–84.

Although the costs of operations are met from the Exchequer, the House of Commons and House of Lords are not government departments and their budgets are a matter for each House rather than the government. The Clerk of the House of Commons and the Clerk of the Parliaments in the House of Lords, as the respective Accounting Officers, account for the expenditure of each House.

For reference, the costs attributable to the operations of Parliament were £358.2 million in 2013/14 (on an accruals basis); and £22.9 million in 1983/84 (on a cash basis). It should be noted, however, that the latter amount does not include services, such as printing and works, paid for at the time out of government departmental budgets. This, along with the different basis of the two figures, means they are not comparable.