Scott worked for the Passage Day Care Centre and is Honourable President of the East Coast Sailing Trust.

She represented UK local government in Europe as a member of the Committee of the Regions from 1997 to 2001 and as part of the North Sea Commission.

[4] On 8 November 2008, it was announced that she had won the ballot of party members to become President of the Liberal Democrats, beating Lembit Öpik by a margin of 72% to 22%.

She has been a non-executive director at Lloyd's Register, Entrust, the Landfill Tax regulator and ITV, and was also a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport think-tank.

She is currently a non-executive director of the Harwich Haven Authority, and is the Liberal Democrat-nominated member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.