Emergency Budget Review - Leading Economists To Give Expert Advice To Scottish Government

29th September 2022

Members of an expert panel providing advice to the Scottish Government as part of its Emergency Budget Review (EBR) have been confirmed.

Sir Anton Muscatelli, Professor Frances Ruane and Professor Mike Brewer will assess the impact on Scotland of the UK Chancellor's fiscal approach and held their first meeting with Deputy First Minister John Swinney today.

Their advice will enable timely consideration of the implications of the UK Government's fiscal event as work continues to prioritise the Scottish Government's budget towards tackling the cost of living crisis. The Deputy First Minister has announced he will report the results of the EBR in the week beginning 24 October.

Mr Swinney said, "The Scottish Government wants to make sure it gets the very best advice and fresh perspectives as Ministers consider the complex and difficult decisions we face while tackling the challenges ahead.

"The radical shift in UK economic policy announced by the Chancellor has already caused significant economic shock.

"For the benefit of the people and businesses of Scotland, many of whom will find themselves paying higher prices as a result, it is vital that we consider the current situation and potential solutions with care.

"The members of the panel all bring robust economic insight and I am grateful to them for giving their time and expertise as we navigate these uncharted economic waters."

The expert panel members, whose positions are non-remunerated, are:

Sir Anton Muscatelli - Principal of the University of Glasgow. He was knighted in June 2017 for services to higher education. Formerly principal of Heriot-Watt University, he has been an adviser to the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on monetary policy since 2007. He chairs the Scottish Government’s Standing Council on Europe, a non-political group which provides expert advice to Scottish Ministers on protecting Scotland’s relationship with the EU, and he was a member of the Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers between 2015 and 2021 and a member of the Advisory Council for Economic Transformation.

Professor Frances Ruane - A Research Affiliate at the Economic and Social Research Institute since 2015. She is currently Chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council and in that role represents Ireland on the European Network of National Productivity Boards. Prof Ruane has previously served as the European Statistical Advisory Committee and the European Statistical Governance Advisory Board . In addition, she previously served three terms on the Council of Economic Advisers in Scotland. She will provide an external perspective to the panel on issues such as the competitiveness of Scotland’s tax regime.

Professor Mike Brewer - Chief Economist and the Deputy Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, where he oversees all aspects of the Foundation’s research agenda. He is a visiting Professor at the Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and between 2011 and 2020 was a Professor of Economics at the University of Essex. He has also worked at the Institute for Fiscal Studies and HM Treasury.

Comment
Amazing that the UK government has not taken the advice of the many experts available to them such as the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) who usually scrutinize UK budgets. The treasury is full of economists who would surely have advised against much of this mini budget. The Guardian set it out in an article - The prime minister’s peremptory sacking of the head of the Treasury, Tom Scholar, is ominous. It was one of her first decisions and cannot have been anything he said or did. She had already let it be known, through “allies", that she also intended to sack the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, but apparently changed her mind. Scholar’s sin was that he supposedly embodied the “Treasury orthodoxy", which Liz Truss had pledged to overturn. His ousting was clearly meant as a talisman of her new regime. See https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/12/liz-truss-sacking-civil-servants-government
So they already knew what they were going to do would not be supported.
So now Truss and Kwarten only answer any questions by saying they are helping with energy bills and not referring in any answers about the interest rates hitting mortgages and other debts. According to the IMF What is happening now usually happens in third world countries and not in a G7 country like UK.