Positive Signs

Amid the economic gloom that we have all had to get used to in recent years, it is often the case that people strain hard to see recovery heralded in the smallest of signs. Yet recently published figures do show positive movements for the Scottish economy in the final months of 2011.

While GDP in the UK and in the Eurozone fell by 0.3% in the final quarter of last year, in Scotland the reduction was a more modest 0.1%. A small difference to be sure, but a welcome sign that in that period at least the Scottish economy outperformed that of the rest of the UK.

That figure was underpinned by figures published at the same time showing that Scotland has a lower rate of unemployment, a higher rate of employment and lower economic inactivity than the UK as a whole. These are welcome signs in all three of the key labour market statistics.

One of the key factors that have helped to boost Scotland’s economic performance relative to the rest of the UK has been the Scottish Government’s Small Business Bonus Scheme. This has seen rates bills abolished or substantially reduced for thousands of businesses across Scotland, keeping money in their balance sheets at a time when the margins businesses are operating in are tighter than ever.

In Aberdeenshire alone, this support has seen businesses save more than £20 million in taxation since the policy was brought in during 2008. Across Scotland, the figure that has been saved is over £400 million.

This is a substantial level of support that has been instrumental in keeping the small businesses which form the lifeblood of our economy afloat during harsh economic times. It is one of the Scottish Government achievements of which I am most proud and our commitment to maintaining this essential policy has not wavered.

With the publication of first quarter data for 2012 showing that the UK economy as a whole has again contracted, meaning that it has fallen into a double-dip recession, it is measures such as the Small Business Bonus that will help maximise Scotland’s economic performance.

With first quarter figures for Scotland not yet available, I know that people across the country will sincerely hope that the positive signs that are there in the Scottish economy will help us to avoid the fate of the rest of the UK.

Making your vote count

For the first time in many years, the 3rd of May will see local government elections held in Scotland with no other elections taking place at the same time. After the large number of spoilt ballot papers in the 2007 elections, making sure that council elections take place on a separate date was one of the key recommendations that were made by the inquiry that was subsequently held into what had happened.

Holding the elections on their own day should help to reduce confusion, but everyone should also remember that in this election they need to vote using numbers to rank the candidates in order of preference. The decisions that local authorities make have a huge impact on our day to day lives so I hope that we will see a substantial turnout in Banffshire & Buchan Coast as people play their part in the democratic process.

The importance of these elections should not be underestimated, particularly in these difficult economic times where the decisions local authorities make are particularly critical, so I look forward to working with the new and returning councillors which local residents elect on the 3rd of May.