SOVEREIGN GRANT REPORT 2017-18
The Royal Household today published its annual financial statement, The Sovereign Grant Report. For the financial year 2017-18, the Sovereign Grant amounted to £76.1m. For the first time, it included a dedicated amount – £30.4m – to fund the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace, a major 10 year overhaul of essential building services including electrical wiring, pipework, boilers and generators.
The Sovereign Grant was supplemented by additional income of £17.3m, generated from sources including facilities management charges and property rental. Official expenditure met by the Sovereign Grant in 2017-18 amounted to £47.4m. The excess of the Sovereign Grant and other income over expenditure of £28.7m was transferred to the Sovereign Grant Reserve. This includes £26.3m to meet future commitments for the Reservicing Programme.
Other highlights of the 2017-18 Report include:
- An increase of 16% in income generated to supplement the Sovereign Grant.
- A 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 2% fall in energy consumption, as part of a broader commitment to environmental sustainability.
- Details of Reservicing Programme activity in 2017-18 and forthcoming plans for 2018-19 – including High Priority Works (replacement of boilers and generators) and the decant of the East Wing of the Palace.
- Official duties: in 2017-18 The Queen undertook 154 official engagements, while some 3000 engagements were carried out by the Royal Family as a whole.
Reflecting on the year 2017-18, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, said:
“For the first time since the reign of Queen Victoria, there are three generations of the royal family at work together in support of The Queen. Each generation brings its own style and personality. What everyone shares is a desire for the monarchy to reflect and serve all parts of our country and the wider Commonwealth.”
Commenting on the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace, Sir Michael added:-
“The programme addresses the urgent need to overhaul the Palace’s essential services – some of which have not been updated since the 1950s. These important works will help avert the very real danger of a catastrophic building failure such as a flood or fire. During the first year of Reservicing, we removed the oldest and highest-risk electrical cabling. We set up a programme office and appointed key roles including the architect, design team and surveyors. We also commissioned a 3D survey of the building which has given us an unprecedented level of detail about the Palace.”
To download the full report visit https://www.royal.uk/
