Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) the Department for Trade and Industry, (b) HM Treasury, (c) the Scotland Office, (d) the Bank of England, (e) the Inland Revenue Commissioners and (f) HM Customs and Excise regarding the growth of the Scottish economy, stating what meetings have taken place since June 1999 and the outcomes of such meetings.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the creation of new businesses and companies and whether these arrangements are sufficient to inform policy on economic growth.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what statistical information collected by Her Majesty's Government and organisations regarding the creation of new businesses or companies in Scotland it uses to inform policies on economic growth.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce new measures to monitor the creation of new businesses and companies.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors the cessation of trading of businesses and companies and whether these arrangements are sufficient to inform policy on economic growth.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what statistical information collected by Her Majesty's Government and organisations regarding the cessation of trading by businesses or companies in Scotland it uses to inform its policies on economic growth.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce new measures to monitor the cessation of trading of businesses and companies.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to liaise with business organisations, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the public and voluntary sectors to produce a joint plan for economic growth.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what the Scottish gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP) have been in each year since 1900 compared with the UK figures, expressing Scottish GDP and GNP as a percentage of the UK equivalent and outlining the methodology used to compile these figures.
Jim Mather: Does the Scottish Executive plan to authorise a further inspection of the wreck of the Jambo off the Summer isles and the complete recovery of its cargo and any other possible pollutants?
Jim Mather: Today, the Parliament moves its consideration of the budget on to stage 3 although, as we and others have said on previous occasions, it is in reality only a list of spending commitments. The budget process has exposed shortcomings in the way in which the Executive communicates its spending plans. The budget documentation is still hard to read and assimilate and it is difficult to reconcile...
Jim Mather: I recognise that and I recognise that some say that there have been improvements. However, those improvements are not happening fast enough and are not radical enough. If, at a portfolio summary level, the Executive had been able to give historical data showing spending over time in major areas of expenditure, and if that had been matched against major outcomes—such as population movement,...
Jim Mather: In both cases, there is an agenda of pushing the common good; I think that Mr McNulty can see what I mean. The agenda here is that there seems to be a tendency to laud spending and ignore outcomes because, after all, our competitor nations have more autonomy and they are more likely to create a gravitational pull that retains wealth, builds infrastructure and retains skilled people. We face...
Jim Mather: I have taken enough interventions. For example, spending is being recalculated on the basis of a diminished head count—after people have voted with their feet—to bolster per capita spending and GDP per capita. GDP data are being restated so that we can move to a new reality that simply downgrades and buries industries that have contracted because of the erosion of competitiveness; such...
Jim Mather: When unemployment data have been announced, no attempt has been made to acknowledge the fact that many people have been compelled to move within the union for want of local opportunity. Therefore, on the budget, I must tell the Executive that I am not alone in craving more information, more trend data, more cross-additions, more reconciliations and more cross-references.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to issue economic growth forecasts.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory powers it has to influence the economy and what plans it has to use such powers in each case.
Jim Mather: What steps is the Executive taking to update relocation strategies, such as the small units initiative, by increasing the targets for the number of relocated jobs in the light of the enabling new technologies and the experience that points to increased levels of staff retention in rural areas?
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of economic growth being its top priority, which measurement it considers to be the most important in measuring economic performance and for what reasons.
Jim Mather: To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of economic growth being its top priority, which measurement it considers to be the most important in measuring the impact of economic performance on the people of Scotland and for what reasons.