The Anguilla House of Assembly has approved a supplementary budget authorising an additional EC$26.5 million in government spending for 2026.
The allocation outlined in the bill for the Supplementary Appropriation (2026) Act, 2026 sets the new total at $657.6m, compared to the $631.1m approved in the 2026 Budget last year.
Premier Cora Richardson Hodge, on presenting the bill during a sitting of the assembly on 8 June, said the supplementary budget is an “important and necessary instrument” in the management of public finances.
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“It allows the government to make responsible in-year adjustments to the approved 2026 estimates of recurrent and capital expenditure,” she said.
She added that it also ensures that expenditure is properly authorised, classified and aligned with the ministries and departments where it will be incurred.
In the supplementary budget, recurrent expenditure totals $426.8m, up $29m from the budgeted $397.8m. Meanwhile, capital spending stands at $230.8m, a decrease of $2.6m from $233.4m.
Public sector compensation
“These figures are substantial, but they must be properly understood,” the premier, who also serves as finance minister, said.
She explained that the main purpose of the supplementary budget is to meet the salary difference and associated employment costs arising from the public sector compensation review.
The premier said $40m was set aside for this in the 2026 Budget for this purpose and only $11m had been allocated.
The remaining $29m in compensation reform funds were held centrally in the Ministry of Finance as a control measure while detailed payroll and departmental allocations were finalised.
Now that the work is complete and a total of $36.8m has been determined as needed, another $25.8m will be formally transferred to the relevant ministries and departments to be spent.
The premier noted that statutory limits on internal reallocations under the Financial Administration and Audit Act make it too significant to be handled administratively, requiring full assembly approval.
Government expenses
Richardson Hodge told members that the supplementary budget also addresses urgent and essential expenditure needs, including for health, energy, policing and capital reallocation.
A provision of $10m has been made to address outstanding liabilities of the former Water Corporation of Anguilla and outstanding streetlight electricity charges owed to ANGLEC.
The government will also allocate $3m in additional funding to meet the growing demand for overseas medical care and associated patient support costs.
It will provide $2.6m to support the Anguilla Tourist Board’s strategic marketing initiatives and the continued expansion of direct air service to Anguilla.
Another $1.4m will go to the Royal Anguilla Police Force, while additional funding will go to the Anguilla Community College for subventions and the Department of Health Services for staff.
The government has finally set aside $15.3m in contingency funding to support future fuel surcharge relief for eligible electricity customers, should circumstances require.
Members approved the bill at the first, second and committee stages without amendment, before passing it at the third reading.
