Scotland's Evolving Fiscal Landscape
Dame Susan Rice, Robert Chote and Alyson Stafford spoke about how the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Office of Budget Responsibility work both individually and together and the setting in which these institutions exist and operate.
Robert Chote has been Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility since 2010, having been reappointed for a second five-year term in 2015. He also chairs the OECD’s network of parliamentary budget offices and independent fiscal institutions, as well as the external advisory group of the Irish parliamentary budget office. Previously, Robert served as Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies from 2002 to 2010, as a senior advisor at the International Monetary Fund from 1999 to 2002, as Economics Editor of the Financial Times from 1995 to 1999, and as a writer at the Independent and Independent on Sunday from 1990 to 1994. Robert is chair of the Royal Statistical Society’s advisory group on public data literacy. He is also a member of the Finance Committee of the University of Cambridge and the advisory committee of the ESRC Centre for Macroeconomics, and is a governor of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR).
Dame Susan Rice DBE has been Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission since 2014 and was reappointed for a further four years from July 2018. A Chartered Banker, Susan is, inter alia, Chairman of Scottish Water, President of the Scottish Council of Development and Industry, a non-executive director of J Sainsbury and the Banking Standards Board, and a lay member of Court of Edinburgh University. Susan is a published medical researcher and has previously served as senior Vice President at NatWest Bancorp in New York, dean at Yale and Colgate Universities, Chairman and Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland plc and Managing Director of Lloyds Banking Group.
Alyson Stafford CBE is Director General Scottish Exchequer, with responsibility for the overall Scottish Budget including tax, spending and measuring performance, and for advice, support and systems on finance and procurement. Alyson joined the Scottish Government in 2005, previously serving as Director General Finance and Director of Finance. Prior to joining the Scottish Government, Alyson led strategic, operational and corporate services in the Health Service in England and Scotland as a Chief Executive and Director of Finance.
