Official Statistics

Grants Statistics Bulletin 2023 to 2024

Published 27 March 2025

1. Purpose of this report

This report accompanies the release of the Government grants register 2023 to 2024. This report provides context to this grants data, an overview of grant spending and guidance notes on how the data has been compiled.

This release is classified as Official Statistics. The details of the ongoing improvements to these statistics are outlined in the statistics development plan accompanying this publication.

Government grants register 2023 to 2024 data release covers:

• General grants and formula grants (at both scheme and award level) across all government departments.
• Grants funded during the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.
• Grants that are new for 2023 to 2024 and grants that were set up in previous years which have continued to be active in 2023 to 2024.
• Exchequer-funded grants (this excludes grants funded by devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland); this includes overseas aid provided by the UK government as grants, but excludes grants made by the EU or the UK government contribution to the EU.
• Any central government departments or arm’s length bodies (ALBs) that manage exchequer funded grants.
• Central government departments are presented in the structure that existed in 2023 to 2024. This publication does not reflect the machinery of government changes that subsequently occurred in 2024 to 2025, which resulted in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) becoming the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

This data does not include:

• Grants-in-aid – these are funds allocated from one part of government to another part of government, for example, central government funding for the running costs of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs).
• Details of awards made by Local Authorities.
• Details of fraud and error. Data relating to fraud and error is reported centrally and published annually in the Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report.

There are a number of notes and caveats that will help inform the interpretation of this data. A summary of these, as well as departmental statements, can be found at the end of this report. Full details can be found in the Quality and Methodology Information document, published alongside this report. Note that values presented in this report are rounded. Therefore totals may not equal the sum of their parts, and percentages may not add up to exactly 100%. The statistics in this report are based on unredacted data, so will not exactly match any statistics calculated directly from the accompanying government grants register.

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2. Introduction to government grants

Government grants are funds intended to be permanently transferred^{[footnote 1]} from a government organisation, to a grant recipient^{[footnote 2]}, in order to fulfil a policy or public interest need. Unlike contracts/procurements (e.g. for the purchase of goods or services), grants are provided with the focus on the outcomes and impacts of the activities being funded. Usually grants are awarded to finance (or reimburse expenditure on) the recipients’ activities in order to further the implementation of government policy or public interest, where it is neither appropriate nor possible for the government organisation to carry out those activities itself.

Grant spending accounts for around 12% of total UK government expenditure.^{[footnote 3]} Government grant funding plays an important role domestically, in areas such as education, research, civil society and innovation, and abroad through international aid projects.

Grants can be used for a number of purposes, including providing financial subsidies to deliver activities and outcomes, supporting government policy initiatives, and funding research, development and innovation. Examples of grant funding from 2023 to 2024 include programmes to create affordable homes and remediate unsafe cladding, funding to support additional police officers, and awards to support & enhance the natural environment.

2.1 Allocation of government grants

There are two allocation methods by which grants are issued:

• Formula grants: are those calculated by way of a formula. This funding is provided, in recognition of specific criteria, by central government to organisations such as local authorities, schools and the police. Funding is determined by factors relevant to the purpose, such as population or number of pupils who receive free school meals. These grants account for 78% (£118.9 billion across 149 schemes) of government grant spending.

• General grants: allow the government to secure policy objectives which the market cannot, such as innovation and research, and they allow an effective funding route for the voluntary and charitable sectors, for example to address homelessness and regional inequalities. General grants account for 22% (£34.2 billion across 1,847 schemes) of government grant spending.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 1

2.2 Total grant spend by department and allocation method

The government spent £153 billion on grants in 2023 to 2024. This is a 2% decrease from £156 billion in 2022 to 2023. The Department for Education (DfE) gave out the greatest amount of money as grants, accounting for £83.3 billion (54%) of the total value of government grants. This includes the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), the General Annual Grant (GAG), and the 16-19 Education Grant; these three schemes account for a combined total of £64.4 billion. Large grant giving departments also include the DLUHC, and the Home Office (HO), which together with DfE gave out £123.4 billion (81%) of the total value of government grants.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 1

3. How grant spending has changed over time - from financial years 2018 to 2019 up to 2023 to 2024

In the financial years prior to 2020 to 2021, grants spending was broadly static at £113 billion in 2018 to 2019, and £118 billion in 2019 to 2020. This spend was dominated by formula grant schemes, making up around 70% of spend in both years.

In 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022, grant spending played a key role in the UK government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant spending in 2020 to 2021 was £258 billion, more than doubling compared to previous years, with general grant spending higher than formula grant spending for the first time. Grant spending in 2021 to 2022 decreased by 33% compared to 2020 to 2021, however it remained significantly higher than in earlier years. This was largely due to the continuation of grant spend to support the COVID-19 response, as well as increased formula grant spending to support economic recovery. The breakdown of this spending mostly returned to previous patterns, with formula grant spending making up 67% of total grant spending.

Grant spending in 2022 to 2023 decreased by 10% compared to 2021 to 2022. This was driven by the closure of large grant schemes supporting the COVID-19 response, such as the HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) Coronavirus Job Recovery Scheme. Grant spending by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) increased by 55% compared to 2021 to 2022, due to the launch of grant schemes to support rising energy bills and cost of living, such as the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS GB) and Energy Bill Relief Scheme Great Britain and Northern Ireland (EBRS GB&NI).

Grant spending in 2023 to 2024 remained in line with 2022 to 2023, decreasing by 2% overall. Despite the overall value remaining consistent, grant spending by specific departments has changed. For example grants spending by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) increased by 33% compared to 2021 to 2022, due to increases in schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, and the introduction of the new Delinked Payments scheme for farmers. Grant spending by the BEIS accounted for £23 billion in 2022 to 2023. After the machinery of government changes, much of this funding is now overseen by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). The combined grant spending of these three departments accounts for £10 billion in 2023 to 2024. Although not directly comparable, this represents a decrease of 56% compared to grant spending by the BEIS in 2022 to 2023, and is a return to grant spending levels by the BEIS prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Details on grant spending over time for all departments can be found in Table 1 of the statistical tables accompanying this bulletin.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 1

4. Formula grants in financial year 2023 to 2024

Formula grants are those calculated by way of a formula. This funding is provided, in recognition of specific criteria, by central government to organisations such as local authorities, schools and the police. Funding is determined by factors relevant to the purpose, such as population or number of pupils who receive free school meals. These grants account for 78% (£118.9 billion across 149 schemes) of government grant spending. This is a 9% increase on the value in 2022 to 2023, when £108.8 billion was funded via formula schemes.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 1

The largest formula grant funder is the DfE who provided £77.7 billion in formula grant funding during 2023 to 2024. Outside of the DfE, the next largest formula grant schemes are the HO’s £5.1 billion Police Main Grant and the DLUHC’s £3.9 billion Social Care Support Grant. See table 1 below for details on these schemes, and the government grants register, accompanying this bulletin, for details of all grant schemes.

Table 1: The 10 largest formula grants schemes

Department	Scheme Name	Purpose and objectives	Value
DfE	Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG)	The main revenue funding that local authorities receive from DfE in support of local authority!s school budgets, payable to local authorities under section 14 of the Education Act 2002. It is split into four funding blocks: early years, schools, high needs and central school services.	£30.3 billion
DfE	General Annual Grant (GAG)	The main revenue funding for academies, paid monthly. It consists of two elements: the school budget share (funding that is calculated on the same basis as for maintained schools in the same local authority) and the minimum funding guarantee.	£29.1 billion
HO	Police Main Grant	Statutory funding to all Police and Crime Commissioners as the Police Main Grant, awarded under statute each year.	£5.1 billion
DfE	16-19 Education	This funds a range of providers and institutions (such as further education colleges, sixth-form colleges, independent learning providers and higher education institutions) to provide 16-19 further education and support.	£5.0 billion
DLUHC	Social Care Support Grant	Grant to support immediate pressures being experienced by authorities delivering social care	£3.9 billion
DHSC	Public Health Ring-fenced Grant 23/24	The purpose of the grant is to provide local authorities in England with the funding required to discharge the public health functions, and is ring-fenced. The grant can be used for both revenue and capital purposes.	£3.5 billion
HO	DLUHC Funding	Part of the Police Grant Report set by the Home Secretary	£3.4 billion
DfE	Pupil Premium	Pupil Premium is a grant to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in England and to provide pastoral support for children from service families.	£2.9 billion
DLUHC	Business Rates 2% Inflation Cap	Compensates local authorities for Business Rates reliefs given	£2.2 billion
DLUHC	Improved Better Care Fund	The Better Care Fund (BCF) is a programme spanning both the NHS and local government which seeks to join-up health and care services	£2.0 billion

5. General grants in financial year 2023 to 2024

General grants allow the government to secure policy objectives which the market cannot, such as innovation and research, and they allow an effective funding route for the voluntary and charitable sectors, for example to address homelessness and regional inequalities.

General grants account for 22% (£34.2 billion) of the value of government grants spending and 93% (1,847) of the volume of grant schemes in 2023 to 2024. This is a 27% decrease in the value from 2022 to 2023, when £46.8 billion was funded via general grants.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 1

The largest general grant funder in 2023 to 2024 was the DLUHC which spent £8.3 billion on general grants. The three largest general grant schemes are the DLUHC’s £1.5 billion Strategic Deals 21-26 scheme, the DESNZ’s £1.2 billion Renewable Heat Incentive and the UKRI’s £1.1 billion Innovate UK scheme. See table 2 below for details on these schemes, and the government grants register, accompanying this bulletin, for details of all grant schemes.

Table 2: The 10 largest general grants schemes

Department	Scheme Name	Purpose and objectives	Value
DLUHC	Homes England: Strategic Partnerships 21-26	The Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 (AHP 2021-26) is a £7.4 billion investment programme providing grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for rent or sale. AHP 2021-26 offers two routes to access funding, Continuous Market Engagement (scheme-by-scheme); and Strategic Partnerships (volume grant allocations to ambitious partners). Through the AHP 2021-26 programme, there is an emphasis on partners’ use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), the delivery of high-quality sustainable design and working closely with housebuilders who are small to medium-sized enterprises (SME).	£1.5 billion
DESNZ	Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) - Domestic and Non-domestic	The RHI scheme provides financial incentive to increase the uptake of renewable (low carbon) heating technologies. The RHI objectives are to: - increase the amount of heat produced from renewable sources; - reduce carbon emissions from heating homes and business premises; and - help to grow supply chains which can support a national transition from fossil fuel to low-carbon heating technology from the 2020s.	£1.2 billion
DSIT	UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) - Innovate UK - Scheme	Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency. We support business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. We help businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate. For details see https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/	£1.2 billion
DfT	City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS)	The CRSTS aims to create a more consolidated and devolved model of transport funding and deliver significant improvements for users.	£1.0 billion
DfT	Government Local Authorities Transport Grant 23/24	This grant is provided by the government to Transport for London to deliver transport services and investment in the capital, including London Underground.	£937 million
DWP	Household Support Fund 2023-24	The objective of the fund is to provide crisis support to vulnerable households in most need with the cost essentials	£842 million
DSIT	UKRI - Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) - Scheme	EPSRC creates knowledge in engineering and physical sciences for UK capability to benefit society and the economy. For details see https://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/	£838 million
DfE	Priority School Building Programme - Private Finance Local Authority & Voluntary Aided School Revenue Grant	This revenue funding is to maintain the condition of selected repaired schools through Public Private Partnership based on the commercial principles of competition, efficiency and value-for-money.	£753 million
DfE	Apprenticeships Participation 18+	To fund the provision of 18+ apprenticeship training.	£726 million
DfE	Apprenticeships Participation 16 - 18	To fund the provision of 16-18 apprenticeship training.	£690 million

5.1 General grant awards by allocation method in financial year 2023 to 2024

There are three means by which general grants are allocated to recipients:

• Competed - applications are invited and evaluated, with awards made based on the outcome of the application. In 2023 to 2024 these grants had a total value of £13.0 billion. Competed grant awards in 2023 to 2024 had an average (median) value of £50,000. As per the Grants Functional Standard, competition should be the default allocation method, wherever appropriate.

• Un-competed - grants are awarded to a single organisation or individual without a competition, for example where there is only a single organisation that has the capability of delivering the objectives. In 2023 to 2024 these grants had a total value of £10.4 billion. Un-competed grant awards in 2023 to 2024 had an average (median) value of £55,000.

• Criteria - disseminated based on specific qualifying criteria, for example grants to assist those affected by floods. In 2023 to 2024 these grants had a total value of £11.5 billion. Criteria grant awards in 2023 to 2024 had an average (median) value of £63,000.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 2

Note that these totals are calculated based on award level data, and average (median) value are calculated based only on awards to organisations. Therefore these totals do not add up to the other general grants totals in this report.

The proportion of criteria-based general awards decreased from 58% in 2022 to 2023 to 33% in 2023 to 2024, the proportion of un-competed general awards increased from 17% in 2022 to 2023 to 30% in 2023 to 2024, and the proportion of competed general awards increased from 24% in 2022 to 2023 to 37% in 2023 to 2024. The main driver behind these changes is the reduced values of criteria-based awards under the DESNZ’s (previously the BEIS’) EBSS GB and the EBRS GB&NI, which had a combined value of £17.1 billion in 2022 to 2023, and have a combined value of £1.8bn in 2023 to 2024.

6. Grant schemes by COFOG in financial year 2023 to 2024

We can classify grants by their area of economic activity using the Classification of the functions of government (COFOG). COFOG defines the broad objectives of government activity. The UK government classifies £83.2 billion of its grants spending as Education (see COFOG definitions for details on what areas of spending this category includes). General public services (£29.0 billion) is the second largest classification.

Source: Accompanying statistical tables – Table 3

7. Data Notes

Full notes for each data field are included in the scheme and award level data accompanying this report. Below are the key notes that users should be aware of when interpreting this data:

• The location recorded on the register is not necessarily reflective of the ultimate beneficiary of grant funding. The address may represent the head office of the initial recipient, rather than where the money is actually spent.
• Some data has been redacted at both scheme and award level in the published data, where there is a requirement by law and data protection regulations; where data has been redacted at award level but not scheme level, this will result in a difference between scheme-level and award-level data values.
• Grants-in-aid are excluded from this publication; grants-in-aid are funds allocated from one part of government to another part of government, for example, central government funding for the running costs of NDPBs.
• Financial figures can be reported on either a cash or accruals basis. We are working with departments to make this consistent for future publications.
• Some data is completely redacted for reasons of national security or commercial security. The statistics in this document and the accompanying statistical tables are calculated based on un-redacted data. This means that the statistics in this report won’t completely match the full published dataset.
• Some recipient information is redacted due to it containing personal information or for national security or commercial security reasons. These details are replaced with [Redacted] in the dataset.
• Average (median) award values only include awards going to organisations, excluding those going to individuals, and are rounded to the nearest thousand.
• Where central government provides grant funds to an organisation that then provides onwards grants to end recipients, only the grant to the initial organisation (e.g. the local authority) is included in this data.
• Central government departments are presented in the structure that existed in 2023 to 2024, and so this publication does not reflect the machinery of government changes that subsequently occurred in 2024 to 2025 which resulted in the DLUHC becoming the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

8. Departmental statements about the data in this report

DCMS

In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) data, the majority of scheme & award records use actual payment values. A small number of records use budgeted values, where the actual payment information was unavailable at the time of data collection. For the grants managed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the negative values in the data are due to repayment of excess money where the recipient did not spend the full awarded amount.

Defra

The Defra data covers core Defra grants and those administered by its Arm’s Length Bodies. Where data is available reported data includes actual values, but in some instances budgeted values may have been reported instead. Defra’s Annual Report and Accounts 2023-2024 includes grants funded by the EU, whereas the data published in the government grants register includes only Defra grants funded by the UK Exchequer. In 2023-24, Defra continued the agricultural transition, replacing the Basic Payment Scheme with Delinked Payments and continued to support thriving rural economies and communities through its Environmental Land Management Schemes. Completion of customer obligations under the schemes are such that both the final year of Basic Payment Scheme and the full liability for Delinked payments was recorded in the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-2024, with the latter included as an accrual and provision. This accrual element is included in the scheme data for publication. Basic Payment Scheme payments were made in the period and hence included in the awards data however cash payments relating to the Delinked schemes will be made in subsequent years and are not included in the analysis of awards for publication. This year’s publication also includes the introduction of primary sub-outcomes for select schemes within their Aims & Objectives. These outcomes relate to the previous administration and is not reflective of the current administration’s priorities at the time of publishing.

DESNZ

The DESNZ data contained within the Government Grants Information System (GGIS), and therefore within this publication, is an approximation of the grant schemes run by the department.

DfE

The DfE 2023-24 financial year GGIS data contains grant scheme and award expenditure for the departmental group and the Office for Students (OfS), an executive non-departmental public body. The return for both the departmental group and OfS has been prepared on an expenditure basis, which is consistent with treatment in prior years. The negative expenditure values for some schemes represent a net recovery for the financial year (for example, a clawback from recipients of funding paid in earlier years). The scheme and award data reported on GGIS represent 99% and 96% respectively of the departmental group and OfS’ total 2023-24 grant expenditure. Having been prepared on a resource expenditure basis, some scheme values include accounting adjustments (such as accruals) that we have been unable to attribute to specific recipients for the awards, leading to differences between those scheme values and the total of their award values. Further investigation to achieve a 100% reporting completion rate (at both scheme and award level) was not proportionate on a value for money basis. DfE’s grant award data consists of one line for each recipient of a grant scheme. Where a grant has been awarded to an academy, the details recorded in the recipient organisation field will be that of either the academy or its academy trust. Where identified in the reporting process, the department’s return excludes grant-in-aid (to other government departments) and grant-in-kind (purchases from third party organisations on behalf of educational organisations such as construction work).

DfT

The Department for Transport 2023 to 2024 grants include support payments to Transport for London (TfL), bus and light rail operators and amounts issued to Local Authorities for investment in local transport and local roads improvement. Subsidies to the bus sector increased in 2023 to 2024, due to the Department’s support for the £2 bus fare cap throughout the financial year and the costs of the Bus Service Operators Grant, a discretionary grant given to eligible community transport operators to help them cover some of their fuel costs. In addition, the Department increased grant funding to local authorities for local transport schemes, including specific new funding allocations relating to the Network North announcement in October 2023, through which the Department reprioritised some planned spending away from HS2 and towards local transport projects. Grants from the Department supported increased investment in the Plan for Drivers and local electric vehicle charging infrastructure. These initiatives were partially offset by the ending of legacy Covid grant support schemes.

DLUHC

The DLUHC data is on a cash payment basis for schemes and awards, which is consistent with prior years’ treatment, and therefore excludes accounting adjustments such as accruals. Grants to local authorities include the Revenue Support Grant which finances revenue expenditure and capital grants which finance non-current assets. These are agreed through the local government finance settlement. In addition, specific grants are distributed outside the settlement. Grant payments may need to be recovered from recipients for a variety of reasons depending on the grant conditions. Where recoveries are made income is recognised at the point that the invoice, or other notice requiring repayment, has been issued. The negative values relate to grant recoveries which net off with the overall scheme at programme level. We supported Local Authorities in England by up to £59.7bn through the 2023-24 Local Government Finance Settlement. On 24 January 2024 additional measures were announced for local authorities in England worth £600 million. Taking into account this additional funding, the final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. The Affordable Homes Programme delivered 14,871 completed homes in 2023-24. 46 of the 108 Housing Infrastructure Fund projects have completed their HIF-funded infrastructure, with a further 32 expected to complete in 2024-25. The Brownfield Infrastructure and Land fund was launched in July 2023. 26,500 Ukrainians were provided temporary sanctuary in the UK through the Homes for Ukraine scheme in 2023-24, with an 18-month visa extension scheme announced in February 2024. The Homes England agency’s largest grant programme is the Affordable Housing Grant programme. This aims to increase the supply of new affordable and shared ownership homes in England. Strategic Partnership Deals is part of the Affordable Housing Grant Programme, these partnerships provide additional support to Registered Providers for the construction of affordable homes. Business rates retention (top ups) are excluded from this publication as these are redistributed business rate grant payments funded through the collection of tariff amounts under the rate retention system and are not funded via the UK Exchequer. The Authority Acts for Awards are automatically associated to the relevant Scheme Authority Act on GGIS and may not be individually verified. A Scheme may have more than one relevant Authority Act. On 10 July 2024, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) was renamed as the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).

DSIT

The DSIT has provided information for DSIT core schemes along with Partner Organisations BDUK, Met Office, UKRI, and UKSA, and the BEIS legacy schemes that were inherited by the department following the Machinery of Government changes announced in February 2023. Data on DSIT Official Development Assistance (ODA) funded international research schemes is also published annually as part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Statistics on International Development. These figures may differ due to differences in presentation by financial or calendar year and on an accrual or cash basis. Data for these schemes is based on DSIT 2022 assurance letters issued to its Partner Organisations covering the period 2023, 2024 and 2025. Since then, new assurance letters have been issued, covering 2023, 2024 and 2025, which override those budgets.

The Newton Fund and Global Challenges Research Fund spend data includes refunds that were received during the Financial Year. For some partner organisations the total value of their refunds exceeded their expenses, which is reflected as a negative total spend value.

DWP

This data covers the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) grants and those administered by its Arm’s Length Bodies. Where available data reported includes actual values, but in some instances budgeted values have been reported instead.

FCDO

The data contained within this Government Grants Register shows a single year snapshot of FCDO grant spend as it is held on the Government Grant Information System (GGIS) at the point of publication.
The most accurate and up to date information on FCDO programmes can be found under FCDO transparency releases on gov.uk. All Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), including FCDO grant funding, is published to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard on Development Tracker.

HO

Data contained within the Government Grants Information System (GGIS), and therefore within this publication, is reflective of the grant schemes run by HO. The awards data covers grants to individual identifiable entities (companies, charities, universities) and other bodies. The data excludes non-grant award funding such as funding issued as contracts. Data also excludes Grant-in-Aid and details of any grant that is partially or wholly EU funded. The figures represent budgeted values which may not have been spent in full.

MoD

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) data covers all general grants made during FY 23/24 and covers core general grants including those administered by one of its Non-Departmental Public Body (the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust).

1. unless unused or misspent ↩

2. a third party that is separate from the government organisation ↩

3. Calculated based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Public finances databank figure for total managed expenditure at the time of publication. ↩