Readers’ questions answered
Can you give us the GDP per person both with and without oil for Scotland in relation to the UK with and without oil? Peter Ovenstone. GDP – Gross Domestic Product – is a measure of everything a country or region produces – it’s a way of measuring the wealth of a nation.
Government figures show that, including oil and gas in the calculations, Scotland has a GDP per head of £ 26,424 against £ 22,336 per person in the UK. This would make it one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
When you strip out oil and gas from the equation Scotland drops behind, with a GDP of £ 20,571 per head versus £20,873 for the UK.
However, there are criticisms of using GDP per head as a comparison.
Some say it is too crude and that Gross National Income, which measures how much of the money generated by an economy stays in that country, is a better indicator of wealth. This consistently shows Scotland behind the UK even including oil and gas income.
Also oil revenues are known to have fallen since those figures were produced and are predicted to continue to dwindle. What about independence for Orkney and Shetland? Kenny McArthur. It’s not clear that there’s much appetite for independence among folk in Orkney and Shetland, but there does seem to be a desire for their unique situation to be recognised.
A petition lodged with the Scottish Parliament calling for a referendum to take place in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles a week after the September 18 vote has already gained 1300 signatures.
That proposal includes giving Shetland and Orkney the option to stay with the UK in the event of a Yes vote. But reunification with Norway – the Scandinavians ruled the islands for centuries before they joined Britain – is not on the agenda.
It’s estimated around two thirds of North Sea oil and gas lies in the waters off Shetland and Orkney and that’s what makes opinion there particularly pertinent.
The Scottish Government has responded by setting up an Island Areas Working Group that is drawing up plans to give the islands more powers, while Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, has had representatives to London to discuss devolving powers to the islands.