Guidance

How OSCAR works for Budgeting Data

Published 5 August 2025

1. Budgeting data

This budgeting guidance covers the annual plans/forecasts and outturn data on OSCAR but not the monthly in-year returns which are processed differently. All data on the budgeting system are loaded in thousands of pounds and adjust what is already on the system. For example:

• 1,000 (one thousand) on OSCAR would be the equivalent of £1,000,000 (1 million pounds).
• If a department had an OSCAR total of 20,000 (£20,000,000) and this needed to be increased by 1,000 (£1,000,000) then only the 1,000 needs to be loaded (rather than the new revised total of 21,000). This ensures a full audit trail of all changes to spending is maintained.

2. Roles of OSCAR users

2.1 Roles of the General Expenditure Policy (GEP) Team

GEP set department budgets which are loaded in the control input book (departmental or spending team users will not need to have access to this). GEP can load data against four different adjustment types:

• Budget Measure adjustments (adjustments to budgets loaded after a Budget to allow for any additional measures announced)
• Budget Exchange adjustments (adjustments to allow departments to move underspends or budget from the current financial year into future years. This ordinarily takes place at Supplementary Estimates)
• Spending Review Settlement adjustments (adjustments loaded to OSCAR after a Spending Review/Round which sets departments budgets for future years)
• Reserve Claim adjustments (adjustments loaded if departments claims on the reserve are approved – the main adjustment type used at Main and Supplementary Estimates)

When GEP load data against any of these adjustment types, the department and spending team contacts associated to that department should receive an email notification. There is no action required for spending teams to confirm these adjustment types on OSCAR, it is for information only.

2.2 Roles of departments

When GEP confirm these control totals, it is for department users disaggregate them. Department users can complete this in the ‘Data Input’ book in the ‘Input’ tab, using the following adjustment types:

• Budget Measure disaggregation
• Budget Exchange disaggregation
• Spending Review Settlement disaggregation
• Reserve Claim disaggregation

When disaggregating data the control totals should a) match the amounts confirmed by GEP and b) be loaded against the correct disaggregation type. For example, if a department receives a Reserve Claim they cannot disaggregate this using the Budget Measure disaggregation type. If departments don’t stick to these rules they will be met with validation error messages and will be unable to disaggregate their data.

Departments also load the following adjustment types themselves, within the Data Input book:

• Final Outturn: For adjustments to outturn years only. These should be adjustments to the final outturn adjustments that are already loaded to OSCAR, rather than new and revised totals. Final outturn adjustments should be loaded to align to ARAs.
• Budget Regime Change: To load any switches (adjustments that are not neutral within control totals), and to reflect any classification changes.
• Annually Managed Expenditure: To load any changes for AME, including forecasts.
• Non-Budget: To load any changes to non-budget data, including creditors and debtors and grant-in-aid.
• Discount Rate Change
• General Provisions
• Capital Provisions
• Capitalised Provisions

Please refer to the Plans Recording Guidance for detail on how to load data for Discount Rate Changes and Provisions.

Departments can load the following adjustments without Spending Team approval:

• Internal Departmental Change (Budget Neutral): To load any changes that do not impact overall control totals (which net to 0). E.g. moving data between ALBs or estimates rows.

Departments are also required to submit adjustments for their Vote on Account.

Machinery of Government (MOG) and Budget Cover Transfer (BCT) adjustments

Department users can also create and donate MOG and BCT adjustments. They are donated by one to department to another/several other departments. Receiving departments can either confirm or reject the adjustments. There is no Spending Team action required for these adjustment types, although they should be aware of the transfer (as should the receiving department ahead of donation).

If any MOGs or BCTs are confirmed, they will need to be disaggregated within the data input book (similar to the GEP adjustments listed above) using the following adjustment types:

• MOG Disaggregation (Budget Neutral)
• BCT Disaggregation (Budget Neutral)

These disaggregation types don’t require spending team approval.

2.3 Roles of Spending Teams

Spending teams are required to review, and either approve (confirm) or reject the following types of adjustments on OSCAR. In the data input book:

• Final Outturn
• Budget Regime Change
• Annually Managed Expenditure
• Non-Budget
• Discount Rate Change
• General Provisions
• Capital Provisions
• Capitalised Provisions

In the Vote on Account book, spending teams are also required to approve (confirm) or reject Vote on Account adjustments by departments.

The process for reviewing and confirming/rejecting adjustments in the data input book is the same for all the adjustment types.