Is the worst behind us?
As we start to emerge from the gloom of winter, it also seems that the worst of the recession could be behind us. All news outlets reported that Scotland’s economy continues to grow, with a 0.7% increase in the latest quarterly results. Alhough this is less than the rest of the UK, and is of course from a low base, the figures bring hope for the economy and greater confidence from businesses. However, like the winter there is still time for worse to come.
So despite the positive outlook, a study commissioned by Nesta stated that government policy is concentrating too much on start-ups and technological firms to the detriment to firms with higher growth. However, most commentators defended the current policy.
Now is the time to influence that policy as the Economy committee has two ongoing enquires with written submissions due at the end of the month. As a (former) scientist I believe that we should do more to exploit the world class university research in Scotland.
As ever, the referendum produces the most heated debates but this week there was also a surprising announcement from the Treasury that the UK debt would be met until independence. This attempt to calm the market re-opened the debate about Scotland’s share of the UK debt. While in First Minister’s questions, Labour asserted that Scotland received more cash from the UK than its citizens paid in taxes, even though the individual proportions seemed to paint a different story. As ever, be careful with those pesky statistics.
The Conservatives brought up another recurring theme over EU membership after independence and earned a reprimand for calling the First Minister a liar. While in the committees four academic experts disagreed about early entry to Europe for an Independent Scotland but all agreed there would be an interim arrangement until full membership was secured. On Friday, the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, came to Edinburgh to point out that: “It cannot be assumed that Scotland would be able to negotiate the favourable terms of EU membership which the UK enjoys.” As both sides and the experts disagree, it seems that Europe and referenda will continue to be in the news for quite some time.
Another issue discussed in both committees and the chamber was the proposal to abolish corroboration in criminal cases. The Justice Secretary’s concession to delay implementation in committee was seized upon in question time as showing that the Bill should be rejected.
Student fees were a constant theme in my previous role but it seems unlikely that Scotland could agree a special dispensation to charge English students fees if Ireland couldn’t, forcing them to introduce a student service charge.
It was good to see the Conservative Murdo Fraser being positive about immigration as universities and technological companies in particular benefit from overseas talent.
Finally and on another positive note the government has announced the Talking Science grant scheme for 2014/15 which takes science to the communities.
Dr Tony Axon
Director, Positive Spin