Household spending power is revealed

SCOTTISH households spent an average of £432.80 a week between 2006 and 2008, new government figures show.

The average weekly spend for households in the UK over the two-year period was 459.70, with those in Northern Ireland spending the highest on average, at 479.70 a week, according to the annual household expenditure report by the Office for National Statistics.

Scots spent less than those elsewhere in the UK on housing, fuel and power, 42.30, compared with a UK average of 50.80, but boasted the highest weekly spend on recreation and culture, at 59.20 a week.

Households in Scotland spent just 59.90 a week on transport, compared with the average 76.40 transport expenditure in the south-east of England.

Disposable income in Scotland was 499 a week, compared with the 544 UK average and a take-home figure in London of 712, the ONS revealed.