Further evidence of the underlying robustness of Scotland’s economy (at the very sharpest end ie Decrees issued) indicated in the latest figures from the Scottish Registry Trust. Noticed these highly encouragingf figures carried on the Scottish legal site but have seen no mention in any other news outlet as yet. Link and snippets below:
According to figures released by Registry Trust, the number of decrees against Scottish businesses dropped by 28 per cent in the first six months of 2019 (compared to HY1 2018 figures) – totalling 1,140, the lowest of any first half-year on record.
The total number of decrees against incorporated businesses dropped by 29 per cent from the previous year’s figures, to 850.
The total number of decrees against the generally smaller unincorporated businesses fell 23 per cent on HY1 2018 figures, to 290 – a record first half-year low.
During the first half of 2019, 9,310 debt decrees were registered against consumers, 29 per cent lower than HY1 2018.
The number of small claims against consumers fell by 29 per cent in HY1 2019 to 8,498, with the total value down to £13.1m, a 28 per cent drop on HY1 2018’s record high figure of £18.1m.
Ordinary cause decrees against consumers in the first six months of 2019 dropped by 33 per cent to 812, compared to the same period the previous year.
The total value fell by 39 per cent to an all time first half-year low of £10.5m.
Scotland chairman Malcolm Hurlston CBE added: “The decree stats for both businesses and consumers are positive over this half year and give hope for a strengthening economy.”
From
the Complete University Guide 2019, we can see that the overall fall in crime
in Scotland in the last ten, or so, years is reflected in the relative safety of
university campuses. Of particular interest is the level of crime (incidents
per 1 000 residents) reported in Glasgow, lower than that in Edinburgh, less
than half the level of England’s safest locations and less than a tenth of the
least safe.
Growth in Scotland’s construction sector has accelerated as businesses
become “fed-up” waiting for Brexit, according to new figures. The Q2
2019 RICS Construction and Infrastructure Market Survey also shows workload and
employment expectations are gathering pace for the year ahead. Workloads in public housing grew at the
fastest pace, with a net balance of 52% more respondents reporting an
increase in activity – up from -30% in Q1. This was closely followed by growth
in private housing workloads.
This
contrasts with decline in the UK. From Insider
on 2nd July:
The UK’s construction output
has plummeted at its steepest rate since 2009, as Brexit uncertainty and weaker
demand hit all major areas of the industry. The Markit/CIPS UK Construction
purchasing managers’ index (PMI) recorded a reading of 43.1 for June, down from
48.6 in May.
Quite
a headline eh? Some (OK me and a few of the Twitterati) have characterised the
former Sunday Herald and the National as ‘Trojan Horses’ with their unconvincing converts to independence,
Kevin McKenna, Michael Fry and Iain McWhirter as mercenaries, driven by a
combination of a basic need to get paid and an innate conservatism, to shy away
from criticism of the wider movement but to weaken it, a bit, by attacking the
SNP.
McKenna
has been very active in the last few days with today’s George Robertson/Gandalf-like
suggestion, in the Observer, that a ‘dark
presence has come to possess this [SNP] party.’ In the same piece we read: ‘Some of their [SNP] candyfloss policies can
drive you round the twist.’ Leaving aside McKenna’s own dark presence, there’s
some connection between his anger at ‘candyfloss
policies’ and his despair in the Herald on the 13th, with ‘SNP diktats.’
These
will include the ban on smoking indoors which Reuters have today reported as
reducing heart attacks by four times more than in England and the reduced
alcohol-related hospital admissions after the introduction of minimum pricing
in Scotland.
More
darkly, Mckenna’s obsession with the SNP goes back. In the Herald in October 2016,
he wrote:
‘There is a curiously
illiberal and reactionary strain running through its (SNP) core which seems to
belie its socialist credentials’
Here were his claims:
Named Person Scheme
was soundly trashed
A Party whose
language is a Caledonian version of Orwellian double-speak
Army of
superannuated advisors
Critics howled down
and accused of pandering to paedophiles
Christian groups
jeered and intimidated
Encouraged by a
bunch of indolent academics
Here
are SNP actions he clearly didn’t like:
Named Person Scheme
Prisoners’ Voting Rights
New Women’s Prison
Minimum Alcohol Pricing
Police Scotland
Offensive behaviour at Football Act
I don’t know if the many recent repeated child abuse scandals in the, mostly, catholic ‘care’ homes or in the, mostly, Celtic boy’s clubs, have moderated his opposition to the Named Person Scheme or if he now wishes we had kept the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, in the wake of last season’s events.
McKenna has
considerable previous as an SNP-basher since his supposed and suspicious
conversion from a rabid Unionist. Here’s what Bella Caledonia wrote of him
before he converted:
‘It’s a piece so loaded with
self-loathing, barely recognised inferiorism and desperate, desperate,
political emptiness it’s hard to approach, but we really do need to talk about
Kevin.’
Heart attack rates dropped among older adults in Scotland in the decade
after a nationwide indoor smoking ban took effect, a new study suggests. Scotland
banned smoking in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces in 2006. There was
a 17% reduction in heart attacks in the first year after the ban took effect,
compared to just a 4% decline over the same period in England, where public
smoking rules didn’t change, the study team notes. In Scotland between 2000 and
2016, there were [sic] a total of 117,161 heart attacks.
Edinburgh
has been declared the top destination for cleantech investment globally after
it saw the largest percentage of
financial support for firms that are kind to the environment. The findings
from Tech Nation highlighting
what is a growing technology specialism for Scotland was discussed at a
roadshow in Edinburgh yesterday sponsored by accountancy firm RSM. Cleantech
involves companies which increase productivity and efficiency by minimising
their impact on the environment. The report UK
Tech on the Global Stage showed Scotland has 9,045 digital tech
businesses, employs 58,000 people and has a turnover of £3.86 billion.
(c) People Make Glasgow In Insider today Following an inaugural
CBRE study in 2017 and using the same methodology to compare 65 cities
throughout the UK, the new report provides an update on the top 25 locations
for companies in…
‘The number of jobs advertised in Edinburgh has surged
80% in two years, according to new analysis. There has also been a rise in the
number of people applying for jobs in Scotland’s capital,…
‘Edinburgh Airport has seen passenger numbers in November
top one million for the first time. Stats released today show 1,045,708
passengers passed through its terminal last month. The figures are up 11.7% on
the same…
Above New York and Berlin, Edinburgh has come tenth out
of 100 top global cities, for ‘opportunities.’ Here’s what organisers, Movinga,
say about their criteria: ‘The research tackles three key areas: economic
strength for start-ups and established businesses, standard of…
‘Edinburgh office market movement up nearly 30% in a
year. Office market movement in Edinburgh in the third quarter of 2018 remained
at the same level as the second quarter – but up 28% on the same…
‘Research prepared for Tech Nation and UK Government’s
Digital Economy Council shows the UK is home to 15 tech companies worth $1bn –
with Edinburgh producing twoBottom of Form. UK cities including Edinburgh are
competing head to…
Edinburgh Airport has been named Airport of the Year at
the National Transport Awards in London. Scotland’s busiest airport saw off
competition from five other airports to win the award at the awards ceremony
which is in its…
They came third and fifth with London and Manchester at 1
and 2. Frankly, I’m astonished that anyone thinks London would a better place
to live. This is, of course, from Insider. Here’s a short extract and the…
The Herald story is based on a one-year change with the number deaths
of people aged under 25 falling in 2017 but rising last year. One-year changes are
meaningless. Here is the longer trend showing that deaths of undr-25s remain at
around only 5% of the total in sharp contrast to those of the 35-44-year-olds:
Health
trends, as any fool knows, are best understood in longer blocks of time because
of the dangers in over-reacting to one-year fluctuations. For example, for this
same group, there were 100 deaths in 2002 but only 47 by 2005, then 94 in 2007,
then 65 in 2010, 32 in 2013, 46 in 2014 and 30 in 2015.
Uncertainty
over the possibility of a second independence referendum has “wreaked dramatic
change” and is posing challenges to the Scottish economy, said Professor Colin
Anthony Jones of Heriot-Watt University’s Urban Institute. He claims a narrow
defeat for the “yes” campaign in 2014 led to British financial institutions
cutting spending north of the border.
I understand the National will reveal that the research has
been rejected by a journal, but we can also reveal that Prof Jones whose latest
book is ‘Externalities and planning
failure in the housing market of an African city’ seems to have
missed these 14 sets of data which mysteriously contradict his thesis:
‘Edinburgh office
market movement up nearly 30% in a year. Office market movement in Edinburgh in
the third quarter of 2018 remained at the same level as the second quarter –
but up 28% on the same…
‘Scottish property investment in the third quarter of 2018 reached
£318.4 million, according to research from CBRE Scotland. The property firm
said the total figure was achieved across 35 transactions with offices
accounting for 29…
As business and tourism boom in Scotland, we read in Insider today:
‘Investment into Scottish hotels doubled in the first half of the year to
almost £400m, according to new figures. UK buyers were the…
From one of Douglas Fraser’s favourites, the Scottish Business News
Network, today: ‘Scottish companies raised £21million in the second quarter of
2018…
A survey produced by the Scottish Chambers network and the Fraser of
Allander Institute, suggests further evidence of confidence in the Scottish
economy. The key points were: Only 15% of firms across the sample reported
declining optimism, suggesting resilient business…
‘Scotland has been named the second most attractive location in the UK
for foreign direct investment (FDI) after London, for the fifth consecutive
year. This second-place ranking is shared,…
‘Foreign Direct Investment in Scotland at ‘unprecedented’ levels Figures
from accountancy group EY show the country is maintaining its attractiveness
among foreign investors, even though other European countries are narrowing the
gap with the UK. Scotland attracted…
Based on a survey by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Fraser of
Allander ‘Institute’, reported in Insider today, it seems companies are
reporting increasing levels of investment in both training and capital
projects. Even, Professor Graeme Roy director…
Based on the annual regional cities office market review produced by
Knight Frank , Glasgow saw a four-fold increase in the total value of
investment last year with almost half due to overseas investment. From Knight
Frank and…
‘Edinburgh’s strong
economic performance and high proportion of skilled and educated workers have
made it the UK’s most attractive city for inward investment, according to a new
report. The study by design and…
This is the latest report of many this year, in Energy Voice, pointing
to dramatic rises in oil prices in the next year or so with several now
suggesting a return to greater than £100 dollar per barrel. See this…
‘Investment into Scottish commercial property surged in 2017 as money
spread throughout the country and across the office, industrial, retail and
leisure sectors. According to figures compiled by Savills, investment reached
£2.3bn, 37…
Reported in Insider yesterday, a survey by Savills revealed a massive
£195 million investment in 2017. All of Scotland’s cities recorded increases
with Edinburgh accounting for 64% of the total. This makes Edinburgh the second
largest ‘target city’…
Now Total has begun drilling another massive field west of Shetland. It’s been reported in Energy Voice but, so far, it’s not being covered by MSM:
In Energy Voice yesterday:
Energy company Total has announced a major gas discovery off Shetland.
Initial tests at a site on the Glendronach prospect indicated there could be about one trillion cubic feet of gas which could be extracted. Total’s Arnaud Breuillac said the discovery could be commercialised by using the current Laggan-Tormore infrastructure.
Total has a 60% stake in the site. Energy company SSE and chemicals firm Ineos each have a 20% interest.
Mr Breuillac, Total’s president of exploration and production, said: “Glendronach is a significant discovery for Total which gives us access to additional gas resources in one of our core areas and validates our exploration strategy.
“Located on an emerging play of the prolific west of Shetland area, the discovery can be commercialised quickly and at low cost.”
The Greater Laggan area is about 125km (78 miles) north west of Shetland.
Picture: Total/Universal News And Sport (Scotland) 24/09/2018
Statistics show tax
choices are delivering a more progressive tax system.The combined number of higher and additional rate taxpayers in Scotland
is growing at a faster rate than the rest of the UK, according to new
figures.Official statistics published by HMRC show that income tax
revenues grew by 1.8%, to £10.9 billion in 2017-18, with growth driven
primarily by an increase in contributions from higher and additional rate
taxpayers – those earning above £43,000 in Scotland in 2017-18. The figures
also show that:
Growth in tax paid
by Additional Rate taxpayers was faster in Scotland compared to the rest of the
UK – 8.5% compared to 8%
The provisional estimate for Scottish income tax revenue in 2018-19 is
£11.7 billion – a 7% increase on 2017-18
PAYE receipts have
grown faster in Scotland in 2018-19 at 5.9% compared to the rest of the UK at
5.1%
After revisions to income tax revenues and the associated Block Grant
Adjustment, there will be a final reconciliation figure of £204 million – a
reduction on the amount projected in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy
Talking-up Scotland 