You're quite right. I referred indirectly to the fact that the items in the supplementary estimates (B) here today were in large part not available to be placed in the main estimates.
The supplementary estimates serve two purposes. They seek to revise spending levels that Parliament will be asked to approve. They also provide all members of Parliament information on changes to estimated expenditures to be made under the authority of the statutes already passed by Parliament.
The supplementary estimates, as most of you know, are tabled three times a year: the first in May, the second in late October, and the final one in late February. Each of these supplementary estimates documents, labelled (A), (B), and (C), can be published in any given year.
They reflect the government's planning priorities and resource allocation priorities and the fine-tuning of those priorities. In combination with the subsequent results achieved in departmental reports, this material helps Parliament hold the government to account for the allocation and management of public funds.