Stormont independent budget watchdog to begin work soon

An independent budget watchdog for Stormont is to begin work shortly.

It will be chaired by Sir Robert Chote who spent 10 years as the chairman of the UK's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

He will be joined by Prof Alan Barrett, the director of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin.

The other members are Northern Ireland-based economists Maureen O'Reilly and Esmond Birnie.

The body, which to be known as the Independent Fiscal Council, will make an annual assessment of the Northern Ireland Executive's revenue streams and spending proposals.

It will also prepare an annual report on the sustainability of the executive's public finances, including the implications of spending policy and the effectiveness of long-term efficiency measures.

An independent body of that sort was first proposed in the Fresh Start political agreement in 2015.

Budget oversight councils are common across the world, with an increasing number established in the aftermath of the last financial crisis.

The OBR was set up in 2008 and Ireland's Fiscal Advisory Council was established in 2011.

Writing in the Financial Times last year, Sir Robert said two principles guided the work of the OBR: "Making the public finances more transparent and highlighting the uncertainty that always surrounds the outlook."

He said that included "forensic scrutiny of policy decisions" and "a careful lookout for presentational wheezes".

Sir Robert will chair the council for an initial six to nine months during its set-up phase with the possibility of taking on the role for a longer period.