Public appointment: Members appointed to Scottish Funding Council Board

The Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education today announced the appointment of Jacqueline Hall, Caroline Lamb and Paul McCourt as Members of the Scottish Funding Council Board.

Members

Dr Jacqueline Hall is Head of Apprenticeships and Skills at BAE Systems plc. Jacqueline brings extensive national and international experience across education and skills systems in the UK, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. She has led the development of apprenticeships in sectors critical to economic growth and national infrastructure, including the creation of an assessment organisation in response to changes in assessment policy in England. For the past two years, Jacqueline has chaired Scotland's Standards and Frameworks Group, and also serves as an HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) Associate Assessor for apprenticeships and is a member of the HMIE Advisory Council.

 

Caroline Lamb is a qualified Chartered Accountant with senior leadership experience across the housing, higher education and health sectors. Most recently, she served as Director General for Health and Social Care in the Scottish Government and Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, a role she held from 2021 until her retirement in August 2026. Caroline brings extensive expertise in strategic leadership, financial management, governance and organisational transformation, gained through leading large and complex public sector organisations. She has a strong track record of driving improvement, managing change, overseeing significant public expenditure and working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver effective public services.

 

Paul McCourt is a Chartered Accountant and experienced board-level finance leader with more than 30 years’ experience spanning audit, transactions and corporate finance. He was named Scottish Finance Director of the Year in 2025. He subsequently joined InPost UK as Chief Financial Officer, where he played a leading role in the £0.4 billion acquisition of Yodel in 2025, overseeing its integration and substantial financial turnaround.

Paul began his career with PwC and Grant Thornton and brings extensive expertise in financial management, corporate governance, risk oversight, mergers and acquisitions, and business transformation.

He currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee at Seafish, the UK public body supporting the seafood industry, and also chairs its Northern Ireland Advisory Committee. He remains a Strategic Adviser and ESG Committee Chair at InPost UK.

Appointment

The appointment for Jacqueline Hall will be for 4 years and will run from 23 October 2026 to 22 October 2030.

The appointments for Caroline Lamb and Paul McCourt will be for 4 years and will run from 04 November 2026 to 03 November 2030.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The appointments are part-time and attracts a remuneration of £389.65 for a time commitment of 3 days per month.

Other ministerial appointments

Jacqueline Hall, Caroline Lamb and Paul McCourt do not hold any other public appointments.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.   

Jacqueline Hall, Caroline Lamb and Paul McCourt have had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) is the non-departmental public body responsible for Scotland's further and higher education institutions, including its 24 colleges and 19 universities. The SFC is helping to make Scotland the best place in the world to educate, to research and to innovate. Investing around £1.9 billion of public money each year, SFC’s funding enables Scotland’s colleges and universities to provide life-changing opportunities for over half a million people. In April 2027, responsibility for National Training Programmes, including apprenticeships, will transfer from Skills Development Scotland to the SFC.