Leader: Scots may yet feel further chill

Economists? Judging by the far better than expected figures for the UK economy in the second quarter, they should have gone to Specsavers. Has the spectre of double dip recession now been banished?

By no means - but this is nonetheless encouraging news. The UK economy overall grew by a much faster than expected 1.1 per cent, the fastest quarterly expansion since 2006 and with all sectors reporting a strong pick-up. Services posted the biggest rise in almost three years, rising by 1.3 per cent over the quarter. Construction grew at its fastest pace since 1963 following a catch-up after the severe winter.

Has Scotland shared in this advance? It looks doubtful. Figures for the first quarter showed no growth at all. And the signals over the past six weeks have been generally downbeat. The spectre of public spending cuts has done nothing for business confidence or consumer sentiment. People fear making any big financial commitment until they know what the Scottish Government intends to do and when it will do it. Delaying bad news may actually be making matters worse. In the meantime, a more timely flow of data on the Scottish economy would also help. It may not be until after the spending review in late October that we will know how the economy in Scotland fared between April and June. We must do better.