SCOTLAND'S FINANCES

That this House welcomes the publication of the report by leading accountancy firm Grant Thornton which concluded that an independent Scotland could have a significant budget surplus this year of up to £4.4 billion based on a 82.5 per cent. share of North Sea oil revenues; further notes that this represents a sum of £6.2 billion based on a 95 per cent. share of such revenues, and that this conclusion confirms the findings from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 1997, the Constitution Unit in 2002 and Oxford Economics only last year that Scotland has a secure financial base and effectively has been in surplus for 30 years; and contrasts this with the UK which has a deficit of around £40 billion in 2008.