Dimension: 3.1.3 Transparency of the budget cycle and the parliamentary budget

This dimension concerns the transparency of the budget cycle, including budget development, adoption and execution. This includes transparency and clarity over parliament’s role in the budget cycle, as well as transparency over parliament’s own budget.

The national budget is the most important piece of legislation parliament considers on an annual basis. For this reason, the transparency of the budget cycle is vital for public understanding and parliamentary scrutiny of the executive’s spending priorities, planned revenues, capital investments and public debt.

Since the executive usually develops the draft budget, it is also responsible, to a large extent, for the transparency of the budget. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. can play its part by ensuring that the draft budget is published in accordance with the budget calendar, by ensuring full transparency of parliamentary proceedings related to the approval of the budget, oversight of in-year budget execution and ex-post review of the budget.

Similar standards should be extended to parliament’s own budget, which should be subject to the same level of transparency and scrutiny as the national budget.

See also Dimension 1.1.3: Budgetary autonomy, Indicator 1.8: Budget Budget A plan typically prepared by the executive and placed before parliament each year (depending on national statute) showing what money the government expects to receive (revenue) and how the government proposes to spend it (expenditure). , Dimension 2.2.1: Parliamentary expenditure, and Dimension 6.2.3: Participation Participation The process through which people, individually or in groups, get involved in an activity or decision. in the budget cycle.

Show more Show less

Aspiring goal

Based on a global comparative analysis, an aspiring goal for parliaments in the area of “transparency of the budget cycle and the parliamentary budget” is as follows:

  • The legal framework provides for the transparency of the entire budget cycle, including the development, consideration, approval and execution of the national budget, as well as ex-post review.
  • Information is made available, in a timely manner, about parliamentary actions at all stages of the budget cycle. This information is accessible and usable by all groups in society.
  • Parliament publishes explanatory materials outlining the parliamentary process related to the entire budget cycle.
  • Parliament is required to publish comprehensive information about all aspects of the parliamentary budget, including on the parliamentary website.

Assess your parliament against this dimension

Assessment criteria

No 1: Legal framework

The legal framework provides for the transparency of the budget cycle, including the development, consideration, approval and execution of the national budget, as well as ex post review.

No 2: Information about parliamentary actions

Information is made available about parliamentary actions at all stages of the budget cycle, in a timely manner and in formats that can be easily accessed and understood by all groups in society.

No 3: Explanatory materials

Parliament makes available explanatory materials outlining the parliamentary process related to budget consideration and approval, oversight of budget execution, and ex-post review.

No 4: Parliamentary budget

The legal framework and/or parliament’s rules of procedure require the publication of comprehensive information about all aspects of the parliamentary budget, including on the parliamentary website.

How to complete this assessment

This dimension is assessed against several criteria, each of which should be evaluated separately. For each criterion, select one of the six descriptive grades (Non-existent, Rudimentary, Basic, Good, Very good and Excellent) that best reflects the situation in your parliament, and provide details of the evidence on which this assessment is based. 

The evidence for assessment of this dimension could include the following:

  • Provisions of the legal framework and/or parliament’s rules of procedure relating to the transparency of all aspects of the national budget and the parliamentary budget
  • Available or accessible information about all aspects of the national budget, the parliamentary budget and the process for parliamentary consideration of the budget
  • Statistics on the number of visits to websites containing information about the national budget and the parliamentary budget
  • Any commentary on the accessibility or usability of the information available on these websites

Where relevant, provide additional comments or examples that support the assessment.

Download this indicator

Get help with this assessment

The assessment of indicators involves diagnosing and considering strengths and weaknesses, i.e. the things parliament is doing well, and the things it could do better or more effectively, taking into account established good practices that are described in the indicators. 

Read the assessment guidance to find out what to consider when conducting an assessment against the Indicators. Find out how to prepare, how to set the objectives of the assessment, how to organize the process, and more. Contact the project partners for expert advice.

Download assessment guidanceGet expert advice

URL copied to clipboard