Independent view

Your article on the Centre for Economics and Business Research’s (CEBR) deeply flawed report (29 August) offers a very misleading analysis of Scotland’s economy. Scotland’s economy has not grown slowly over the past ten years – the recession in Scotland was shorter and shallower than in the UK as a whole (5.7 per cent vs 6.3 per cent).

The true figures on public spending in Scotland are equivalent to 47.3 per cent of GDP in 2009-10 – actually less than the 47.6 per cent for the UK economy. In addition, Office for National Statistics regional accounts show that average annual growth for output per head in Scotland has exceeded every other nation in the UK for both the past five and ten years.

The National Statistics publication Expenditure and Revenue Scotland shows that it is in a stronger fiscal position than the UK as a whole, and has been for each of the past five years.

Also, analysis for 2009-10 shows Scotland contributed 9.4 per cent of UK public sector revenue and received 9.3 per cent of total UK public sector expenditure. Furthermore, Scotland’s 9.4 per cent of UK tax revenue compares with our 8.4 per cent of the population – the equivalent of £1,000 extra for every man, woman and child in Scotland.

The reality is Scotland now has lower unemployment, higher employment and lower economic inactivity rates than the UK as a whole – and the latest figures show that 24,000 of the 25,000 new jobs across the UK in the quarter April to June were created in Scotland – which means Scotland accounts for 96 per cent of the aggregate increase in UK employment. The CEBR report presents an inaccurate commentary on the constitutional status quo. The Scottish Government is clear that Scotland’s interests would be best served in an independent Scotland.

John Swinney

Finance Secretary

Holyrood

Edinburgh