Scotland The Poor
A NEW report by the Federation of Small Businesses has put Scotland at the bottom of a list of 10 similar-sized countries in terms of its economic performance.
Countries with populations under nine million, such as Norway, Iceland and the Republic of Ireland were included in the study which focused on employment rates, health and education as well as overall economic performance.
The report blamed Scotland’s atrocious health and life expectancy statistics for the low ranking, with Scottish men living to 74.2 on average, over two years shorter than the UK average and Scottish women living to 79.3 on average, just under two years below the national average.
FSB Scotland’s Andy Wilcox warns Scottish politicians of the challenge ahead. Says he, “Coming as it does so soon after the election of an SNP government, this year’s index shows the new First Minister Alex Salmond will have his work cut out for him if he is to match reality with his aspiration of making Scotland healthier, wealthier and fairer”.
The report also ranked Glasgow City as the worst performing local authority north of the border, with the poorest record in terms of mortality, education and employment. But worst of all, it spawned Lorraine Kelly.
Posted: 11th, June 2007 | In: Money Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
