Public Spending Director

Responsibilities

Public Spending Director oversees:

The Directorate for Public Spending which will contribute to a fiscally sustainable Scotland by driving long-term public value to deliver the national outcomes and the Government’s strategic priorities through public spending and infrastructure investment.

They support Ministers to take evidence-based decisions on the prioritisation and allocation of public funds, enable constructive challenge to ensure spending decisions align with policy priorities and provide strategic direction to the Government’s infrastructure investment programme.

The Directorate is also responsible for:

• strategic advice to Ministers on public spending issues, including capital and resource budget allocations
• leading the delivery of spending reviews across Scottish Government
• Public sector pay and pensions policy
• infrastructure strategy, performance and policy

The Director is also a member of the following groups:

• SG Scottish Exchequer Management & Assurance Boards
• Infrastructure Investment Board
• Executive Team – Investment Assurance Mode

Biography

Prior to his current role, Richard was Director for Director of Health and Social Care Finance, Digital and Governance. He has worked at the Scottish Government in various roles since 2010, including a two year period heading the financial services department at NHS Fife.

His finance career began in the private sector, where he worked in External and Internal Audit Functions.Richard is an active member of both the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).