Policy paper

Economic Advisory Council – Terms of Reference - October 2022

Published 17 October 2022

Purpose

The Council will act as a consultative forum for the government to be advised on UK and international economics and financial markets, in line with the Prime Minister’s previous commitment. The Council will consist of leading and respected economists and will be attended by the Chancellor and the Treasury’s Chief Economic Adviser.

Membership

The Council will be convened by the Chancellor.

Members will be invited in an individual capacity and will not act as representatives of other organisations with which they might be affiliated. They will be chosen for their personal knowledge and expertise, as relevant to advising the government on UK and international economics and financial markets.  Members can be added or removed at the discretion of the Chancellor.

Members will not be employed by the Treasury or otherwise contracted by the Treasury. They will be advisory in nature. No fee or other compensation will be made to the Members.

Ways of working

The Council will meet as required in plenary. Further meetings with individual members may be agreed through the Chancellor if required.

The Council will be advisory and will hold no policy or decision-making powers. Its advice will be given direct to the Chancellor. The advice and information flow will be one way from the Members to the Chancellor. Care will be taken to ensure Council members will not be given access to or provided with material non-public information (MNPI) or anything which raises issues of anti-competitive behaviour or market abuse. Members will be required to declare any relevant interests at the beginning of each meeting, based on the topics for discussion, and may be required to be recused from participating if there are any conflicts of interest.

These Terms of Reference and the role and purpose of the Council and its Members will be reviewed after 6 months.

Roles and responsibilities

Council Members will commit to:

  • attend scheduled meetings of the Economic Advisory Council; and
  • respect the confidentiality of this forum to enable a free, frank and substantive dialogue on the issues relevant to the Council.