Alan Budd - Public Profile

Public Profile

Sir Alan was a member of the Independent Review Panel on the Future Funding of the BBC (1999), and chairman of the Gambling Review Body which produced the Gambling Review Report (2001). In 2004 he was asked to investigate the circumstances surrounding the issue of a visa to the nanny of Kimberly Quinn, the lover of David Blunkett, the then Home Secretary; Sir Alan’s report concluded that there was no evidence that Mr Blunkett had personally interfered in the visa application, but that he was "able to establish a chain of events linking Mr Blunkett to the change in the decision on application." Blunkett resigned as home secretary after being told in advance of the report's findings.

In May 2010 he came out of retirement to be the interim Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, set up by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to assess the state of public finances and issue economic forecasts. He described this as "the most exciting challenge of my professional life". In July 2010 it was announced that he will not continue in the role after his initial 3-month contract expires. The Financial Times reported "His departure was expected and Sir Alan had let it be known privately that he had never intended to serve as chairman of the OBR for anything other than a short period. His contract spanned the emergency Budget, leaving enough time thereafter to advise on the legislation needed to establish the OBR on a permanent basis."