Covid-19 and the devolved fiscal frameworks

ChairMairi Spowage, Deputy Director, FAISpeakersDavid Eiser, Head of Fiscal Analysis, FAIGuto Ifan, Research Associate, Wales Governance Centre – Cardiff UniversityDavid Phillips, Associate Director, Institute For Fiscal StudiesDr Ed Poole, Senior Lecturer, Wales Governance Centre – Cardiff UniversityTimestamps(01:01) How has the outlook for the budget evolved since the crisis?(03:12) In terms of the risk that the budget has been exposed to, how has this changed since the budget was set and what is likely to happen next in setting the supplementary budget?(05:20) In terms of the Scottish budget, how has the outlook evolved and what additional risks is the budget exposed to?(08:44) What extent has the crisis changed perspectives about the strengths and limitations of fiscal frameworks that exist?(14:30) The Scottish Government and other commentators in Scotland have called for extra flexibilities, how feasible are these flexibilities and how might they be arranged by the Scottish and UK Government?(17:57) In terms of the additional flexibility that the Welsh Government has been calling for, how well do you think negotiations between the Welsh and UK Government will go regarding these flexibilities?(20:13) To what extent would you say the policy response has diverged in Scotland compared to England?(23:59) Has the experience been similar in Wales?(25:57) Do you have any reflections on the different ways parts of the UK will come out of lockdown and what impact this may have on the Welsh economy and the Welsh budget?(27:45) What impact may this have on the Scottish economy and its budget?(33:14) In terms of the policy responses on the funding side, do you think this reflects the constraints of the fiscal framework?(38:48) What implications will this crisis have on the distribution of devolved spending more generally and the way public services are funded?(43:16) How do you think the fiscal framework will evolve in the longer term in Wales?(46:35) How does this crisis allow the Welsh Government to pursue their own fiscal strategy?(48:59) How do you think the fiscal framework will evolve in the longer term in Scotland?(53:26) Given the fiscal frameworks in place during this crisis, how do you think this might impact the fiscal frameworks of the future?Source