Scotland’s official economic and fiscal forecasts will be produced by an independent body following the launch tomorrow (1 April) of the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) as a non-Ministerial department.
The Commission is chaired by Lady Susan Rice CBE. Lady Rice said: “This is an important milestone in the Scottish Budget process. We now take up our role in supporting the rigour of Scotland’s budgetary responsibility by providing central forecasts of tax receipts, social security payments and Scottish GDP. The Government will use these to shape its budget, and our Parliament will use these to scrutinise that budget effectively.
“We are committed to being transparent and accessible and intend to share our forecasts and the methodologies behind them once we produce them.”
Lady Susan Rice, Chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission
The SFC will publish its first forecast to inform the 2018-19 Draft Budget and – depending on the outcome of the current budget process review – will publish two principal forecasts each year for the Scottish Draft Budget and Budget Bill, together with a subsequent evaluation of its forecasts.
Read the full press release below.
Press release