THE Scottish Government should bypass Westminster if it wants to understand the true state of the economy, an economist has claimed.
Margaret Cuthbert, who has long been a critic of the state of statistical information in Scotland, has urged ministers in Edinburgh to look to Belfast.
Writing in today’s National, Cuthbert said that under present constitutional arrangements, with international trade reserved to Westminster, Scotland has to wait on UK departments providing “regional data”.
However, she points out that Northern Ireland carries out its own survey of exports, imports and business statistics and then provides the data to the UK Office of National Statistics.
She adds: “Any business sampled for the survey has to fill in the form with a true statement of its business; failure to do so results in a fine. The system has resulted in a very good sample response. But what do we have here? Words.”
Currently in Scotland, a report on the State of the Scottish Economy is produced by the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the Scottish Government.
In the most recent edition, which was produced in February 2019, Cuthbert writes that while the document notes the importance of trade to the Scottish economy, the word “imports” is not mentioned once.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Improving Scotland’s export performance is key to Scotland’s economic performance. That is why the Scottish Government launched its export growth plan, A Trading Nation, in May. It refocuses support for exporters to where it will have most impact, and is backed by £20 million of Scottish Government funding over three years.
“The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring businesses in Scotland are supported to embark on their export journey.
“Northern Ireland operates a separate statistics system and has more powers to collect its own survey data as a result of separate data collection legislation, powers that Scotland doesn’t currently enjoy.
“The Scottish Government continues to engage with HMRC to gain access to their trade data as it applies to Scotland.”
MARGARET CUTHBERT: Why Scotland needs better trade statistics
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel