§ 20. Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the state of the Scottish economy.
§ Mr. RifkindI am encouraged by underlying strengths in the Scottish economy such as recent growth in manufacturing productivity and the progress made in developing newer high technology industries such as electronics. Although in recent months the adverse effects of the fall in the price of oil have been more apparent in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK, Scotland should benefit from the wider effects of the fall in the oil price on the UK and world economies.