GERS

England does not subsidise Scotland

Stephen Richard — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 08:42:25 +0000

England does not subsidise Scotland Stephen Richard Sun, 10/17/2021 - 09:42

Author or Creator

Believe in Scotland

The UK Government has diverted Scotland’s wealth to the UK Treasury to pay off its debts. Thus it creates 100% of Scotland’s supposed debts and 100% of its phoney deficit. This is the impact of Westminster’s debt loading alone, and upon that accounting trick, rests the entire economic case for the Union. Would an independent Scotland have to pay the rUK a population share of the UK’s historical debt? No – there is in fact a very strong case for Scotland to be compensated for having already paid more than it’s “fair share” of the UK’s debt

Keywords

Scotland's economy

Public Debt

GERS

The Accounting Trick that Hides Scotland’s Wealth

Stephen Richard — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 22:10:54 +0000

The Accounting Trick that Hides Scotland’s Wealth Stephen Richard Fri, 10/15/2021 - 23:10

Author or Creator

Business for Scotland

It is common to see the report used as evidence of the size of deficit that would befall an independent Scotland but this would only be the case if one imagines public finances being set up exactly as they are within the rest of the UK. An independent Scotland would almost certainly look to control tax, spending and borrowing powers differently than the current set up, and that makes it more difficult to predict what the country’s finances would look like.

Scotland has everything that it takes to be an extremely prosperous and successful independent nation, and more. Scotland with only 8.4% of the UK population possesses 34% of the UK’s natural wealth.

This prompts the question – why does a naturally wealthy nation with a strong, resilient and diverse onshore economy, booming exports, a highly educated population, low unemployment, a wealth of oil and renewables, and a wide range of strong economic sectors have a set of accounts (GERS) that suggest that Scotland’s finances are weak? That is a trick question, it doesn’t. GERS is not a set of accounts for spending in Scotland it contains spending outside of Scotland that doesn’t benefit Scotland economy and that Scotland didn’t generate. GERS also contains clear evidence of mechanisms for removing wealth from Scotland’s accounts which then creates a phoney deficit. There are actually several hidden mechanisms for stealthily removing Scotland’s wealth.

Keywords

A description of GERS by Fraser of Allender Institute

Stephen Richard — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 22:05:54 +0000

A description of GERS by Fraser of Allender Institute Stephen Richard Fri, 10/15/2021 - 23:05

Author or Creator

Fraser of Allender Institute

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) is an annual estimate of the Scottish economy as part of the United Kingdom. GERS is produced by Scottish Government statisticians. It is designated as a National Statistics product, which means that it is produced independently of Scottish Ministers and has been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority as being produced in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. It contains a number of estimates, as there is incomplete data collected for Scotland.

Wikipedia describes GERS in the following terms:

"Since devolution, it has been compiled by economists and statisticians in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser of the Scottish Government. The report is based partly on actual spend and income. Where actual data is not readily available, estimates of income for Scotland are made by the compilers; the data for the estimates are from a variety of sources including pan UK data provided by the UK Government's Office for National Statistics (ONS). GERS is designated as a National Statistics product, which means that it is produced independently of Scottish Ministers and has been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority as being produced in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics"

Keywords

Scottish economy

GERS

This is why the Westminster myths about independence are wrong. Open minds on independence #18

Stephen Richard — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 10:18:19 +0000

This is why the Westminster myths about independence are wrong. Open minds on independence #18

Primary Author or Creator

The National

Stephen Richard Sun, 10/10/2021 - 11:18

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Believe in Scotland

Date Published

Wed, 04/14/2021 - 12:00

Category

Independence

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

This looks at three myths about Scottish independence:

MYTH 1: You'll have had your referendum.

MYTH 2: Scotland has a huge deficit because we spend too much on public services.

MYTH 3: The costs of establishing Scotland as an independent country will be huge.

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.thenational.scot/news/19230554.westminster-myths-independence-wrong/

Keywords

Public services

Public Debt

Independence referendum

GERS

Language English

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland

Stephen Richard — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 08:04:43 +0000

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland

Primary Author or Creator

Wikipedia

Stephen Richard Thu, 09/30/2021 - 09:04

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Add additional Authors and/or Publisher

Date Published

Thu, 08/19/2021 - 12:00

Category

Economy

Type of Resource

Wikipedia

Fast Facts

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) is an annual estimate of the Scottish economy as part of the United Kingdom.[1][2] It was first published in 1992, and yearly since 1995, with the exceptions of 2007 where there was no report due to a methodology review, and 2016 where there were two annual reports due to an acceleration of publishing timescale.

Resource Address (URL)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Expenditure_and_Revenue_Scotland

Keywords

GERS

Language English

FFS explains: what is the GERS report and what can it tell you?

Stephen Richard — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 08:01:41 +0000

FFS explains: what is the GERS report and what can it tell you?

Primary Author or Creator

The Ferret

Stephen Richard Thu, 09/30/2021 - 09:01

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Add additional Authors and/or Publisher

Date Published

Wed, 08/18/2021 - 12:00

Category

Economy

Type of Resource

Fact check

Fast Facts

Published annually, the report details the difference between Scotland’s tax revenues and its public service expenditure. This is used to calculate a net fiscal balance. GERS is produced by Scottish Government statisticians, who decide on the methodology used. The report gives a picture of Scotland’s current public sector revenue and expenditure. The report tells us little about Scotland’s long term financial prospects after independence.

Resource Address (URL)

https://theferret.scot/ffs-explains-what-is-gers-and-what-can-it-tell-you/

Keywords

GERS

Language English

A Guide to the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) Report

Stephen Richard — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:39:20 +0000

A Guide to the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) Report

Primary Author or Creator

Fraser of Allander Institute

Stephen Richard Wed, 09/29/2021 - 11:39

Additional Author(s) / Creators

University of Strathclyde

Alternative Published Date

2021

Category

Economy

Type of Resource

Academic Paper

Fast Facts

The possible financial costs and risks, or savings and opportunities, of implementing a new constitutional framework are, naturally, not considered in GERS. Similarly, it does not report on the effects of faster or slower economic growth in an independent Scotland.

Resource Address (URL)

https://fraserofallander.org/gers-guide/

Keywords

Language English

What are the implications of independence for public revenues and spending?

Stephen Richard — Sun, 26 Sep 2021 11:13:33 +0000

What are the implications of independence for public revenues and spending?

Primary Author or Creator

Graeme Roy

Stephen Richard Sun, 09/26/2021 - 12:13

Additional Author(s) / Creators

David Eiser, Centre on Constitutional Change

Alternative Published Date

2021

Category

Finance

Public Finance

Type of Resource

Assessment report

Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)

11pp

Fast Facts

There is no question that an independent Scotland could run a sustainable budget. But like the UK, an independent Scotland would face major fiscal challenges both in the short and long run. Based upon the latest data, an independent Scotland is likely to face greater challenges than the UK as a whole (at least in the short-term).

More details

Page 91-101 in "Scotland’s new choice Independence after Brexit" Edited by Eve Hepburn, Michael Keating and Nicola McEwen

Resource Address (URL)

http://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2021-03/Scotl…

Keywords

Language English

The truth about the annual GERS figures. Open Minds on Independence #6

Stephen Richard — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 08:16:04 +0000

The truth about the annual GERS figures. Open Minds on Independence #6

Primary Author or Creator

The National

Stephen Richard Thu, 09/23/2021 - 09:16

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Believe in Scotland

Date Published

Tue, 03/02/2021 - 12:00

Category

Economy

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

There is no set of official accounts that tells us how an independent Scotland’s economy would fare, nor what its finances would look like. Any attempt to analyse Scotland’s finances is instantly hampered by the fact that Scotland is not an independent nation and therefore does not have the same financial data, trade statistics, costs and revenue information available to work with that a normal independent country would have.

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.thenational.scot/news/19130594.open-minds-6-truth-gers---scotlands-…

Keywords

Language English

How is Scotland in debt if it can't borrow? Open Minds on Independence #3:

Stephen Richard — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 07:24:34 +0000

How is Scotland in debt if it can't borrow? Open Minds on Independence #3:

Primary Author or Creator

The National

Stephen Richard Sat, 09/18/2021 - 08:24

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Believe in Scotland

Date Published

Fri, 02/19/2021 - 12:00

Category

Finance

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

The accounts don’t suggest Scotland is in debt at all. People just don't understand how to analyse the UK Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland report (GERS).

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.thenational.scot/news/19105372.open-minds-independence-3-scotland-d…

Keywords

Public Debt

GERS

Language English