§ 11. Mr. SwireTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will make a statement on prospects for the Scottish economy [167038]
§ Mr. DarlingProspects for the Scottish economy are good. The labour market continues to perform robustly with employment close to a historic high and unemployment around its lowest level since the 1970s. Growth figures have recently been revised upwards to better reflect real changes in the economy. Interest rates and inflation are historically low. Business surveys are pointing to a continued strengthening of business activity in Scotland in both services and manufacturing and independent forecasters predict that growth will be above-trend in 2004 and 2005.