Planned spending and human resources

Planned spending and human resources

This section provides an overview of the department’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2022-23 with actual spending for the current year and the previous year.

Planned spending

Departmental spending 2019-20 to 2024-25

The following graph presents planned spending (voted and statutory expenditures) over time.

Departmental Spending Trend ($ millions)
Spending 2019-20
Actual
2020-21
Actual
2021-22
Forecast
2022-23
Planned
2023-24
Planned
2024-25
Planned
Statutory 37 85 44 38 36 36
Voted 4,796 4,752 5,520 5,469 4,439 4,433
Total 4,832 4,837 5,564 5,507 4,475 4,469

Note: Some totals may not add up due to rounding.

Our budget changes each year because of the demand-driven nature of our programs and services, which are based on Veterans’ needs and entitlements. Annually, we update our client and expenditure forecast to ensure that all Veterans who come forward receive the benefits and services that they require.

In other words, a Veteran who is entitled to a benefit is paid that benefit, no matter how many Veterans come forward. Over 90% of our budget is allocated for expected payments to Veterans, their families and other program recipients.

Currently, planned spending is forecasted to decrease in the outer years. This decrease is attributed to the conclusion of temporary funding to address the backlog, as we are forecasting less spending as operational capacity normalizes. While planned spending is currently shown to decrease in the outer years, it is expected the Department will see increased demand for many of its programs and services. In the future, the budgets for Veteran benefits will be updated through the Estimates process to align with the latest forecast of client demand and expenditures.

Budgetary planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)Footnote 14

The following table shows information on spending for each of our core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022-23 and other relevant fiscal years.

Core responsibilities and internal services 2019-20
expenditures
2020-21
expenditures
2021-22
forecast spending
2022-23
budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)
2022-23
planned spending
2023-24
planned spending
2024-25
planned spending
Benefits, Services and Support 4,625,183,299 4,660,494,971 5,393,668,226 5,358,759,533 5,358,759,533 4,336,186,036 4,331,177,587
Commemoration 81,485,684 42,205,327 44,436,179 42,775,123 42,775,123 38,148,297 37,648,297
Veterans Ombudsperson 4,115,574 5,193,514 4,467,605 4,481,326 4,481,326 4,511,059 4,511,058
Subtotal 4,710,784,557 4,707,893,812 5,442,572,010 5,406,015,982 5,406,015,982 4,378,845,392 4,373,336,942
Internal services 121,589,799 128,739,691 121,973,377 101,444,483 101,444,483 96,082,653 96,058,036
Total 4,832,374,356 4,836,633,503 5,564,545,387 5,507,460,465 5,507,460,465 4,474,928,045 4,469,394,978

With respect to each core responsibility; Benefits, Services and Support is a large piece of our budget. Planned spending will decrease in the future due to the conclusion of temporary funding to address the backlog as operational capacity returns to historical levels. While planned spending is currently shown to decrease in the outer years, it is expected the Department will see increased demand for many of its programs and services. Additional funding for this demand will be sought through future Estimates process to align with the latest forecast of client demand and expenditures (as previously discussed).

Planned spending for Commemoration will decrease as temporary funding ends from the Budget 2018 initiative to expedite repairs to graves cared for by Veterans Affairs concludes.

Planned spending for Veterans Ombudsman remains stable and is not expected to change.

Finally, approximately 2% of our total planned spending is allocated to internal services, to support program delivery and the corporate obligations of the organization. The planned spending for internal services is forecasted to decrease due to the conclusion of temporary funding related to our initiative to reduce the backlog and improve the delivery of services and programs, as mentioned above.

Planned human resources

The following table shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents (FTEs), for each of our core responsibilities and for its internal services for 2022-23 and the other relevant years.

Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal servicesFootnote 15
Core responsibilities and internal services 2019-20
actual FTEs
2020-21
actual FTEs
2021-22
forecast FTEs
2022-23
planned FTEs
2023-24
planned FTEs
2024-25
planned FTEs
Benefits, Services and Support 2,326.4 2,549.7 2,757.4 2,216.7 2,029.0 2,029.0
Commemoration 90.0 70.0 67.1 92.6 87.6 87.6
Veterans Ombudsperson 32.5 34.2 31.9 39.0 39.0 39.0
Subtotal 2,448.9 2,653.9 2,856.4 2,348.3 2,155.6 2,155.6
Internal services 749.1 801.3 815.5 757.6 747.6 747.6
Total 3,198.0 3,455.2 3,671.9 3,105.9 2,903.2 2,903.2

In 2022-23, we will be maintaining close to 200, of roughly 700 temporary Human Resources, related Service Excellence initiative, which was part of the Government’s Economic and Fiscal Snapshot in August 2020. The temporary increase in FTE resources were hired with the purpose of addressing the backlog of disability applications. These resources, also include 15 FTEs to support initiatives to improve automation and peer support. While planned human resource levels return to previous levels in 2023-24, we will continue to reassess our capacity as we move forward in improving service to Veterans and their families.

Estimates by vote

Information on our organizational appropriations is available in the 2022-23 Main Estimates.

Future-oriented condensed statement of operations

The future oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of our operations for 2021-22 to 2022-23.

The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.

A more detailed future oriented statement of operations and associated notes, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, are available on our website.

Future oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ending 31 March 2023 (dollars)
Financial information 2021-22
forecast results
2022-23
planned results
Difference
(2022-23 planned results minus 2021-22 Forecast results)
Total expenses 5,576,648,263 5,527,435,387 (49,212,876)
Total revenues 0 0 0
Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers 5,576,648,263 5,527,435,387 (49,212,876)

The estimated net cost of operations for fiscal year 2022-23 is $5.527 billion. Over 93% of the planned spending for fiscal year 2022-23 is paid directly to, or on behalf of, the people we serve, in the form of compensation, financial support, health care and commemoration. When comparing 2021-22 Forecast Results to 2022-23 Planned Results, the decrease is due to the conclusion of temporary funding to address the backlog as operational capacity returns to historical levels.