Scottish Government-commissioned advisers have criticised supposedly “independent” economic watchdogs that use government staff and models to scrutinise government finances.
The Scottish Fiscal Commission Working Group, which features two Nobel prize-winning economists, said some fiscal watchdogs use staff on secondment from government but label themselves as independent.
It has proposed an alternative watchdog for Scotland if it leaves the UK, featuring a small team of economists drawn from the public, private and education sectors.
This “Scottish Fiscal Commission” (SFC) could provide better scrutiny of Scotland’s finances than the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the experts have suggested.
The OBR has been criticised by Scottish ministers in recent months for producing “inexplicable” forecasts on Scotland’s taxes and finances.
In a new paper to be released today, the advisers will suggest “an alternative model” to the OBR similar to Swedish and Irish models.
Sweden employs just six people with five assistants to its fiscal scrutiny body, the working group said.
In an advance trail of the report, the working group said: “International examples have shown small commissions…can be effective.
“Members of the SFC should be appointed for their expertise in public finance/the economy and could potentially be drawn from the public and private sectors as well as academia.”