News story

Scottish GDP Figures Q2 2021

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack responds to stats for April-June

From:
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and The Rt Hon Alister Jack MP
Published
15 September 2021

Commenting on today’s Scottish GDP Figures, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

Today’s figures indicate that we are moving in the right direction, but there are still challenges ahead as we prioritise a strong, sustainable recovery.

The UK Government introduced an unprecedented package of support to get us through the pandemic. Now, with the focus on our Plan For Jobs, we are helping people in all parts of the United Kingdom get back to work, building back better and stronger thanks to the huge success of the UK-Government funded vaccine programme.

All this comes on top of the additional £14.5billion funding provided to the Scottish Government and £1.5 billion invested in growth deals across Scotland with our new Levelling Up and Community Renewal Funds set to benefit communities right across the UK.

Background:

  • The UK Government’s furlough scheme, extended until the end of September 2021, paid up to 80 percent of wages. The self-employed support scheme, was also extended to the end of September 2021. The furlough scheme in Scotland supported cumulative more than 900,000 jobs alone.

  • More than 100,000 businesses in Scotland have been supported from UK Government business loans worth £4 billion.

  • The UK Government has provided billions in extra funding for the welfare system for those unable to access other forms of support.

  • This direct support is on top of the additional £14.5 billion provided to the Government since the start of the pandemic.

  • Our new Health and Social Care Levy will help provide the Scottish Government with up to £1 billion a year in additional funding for health from 2022-23

  • The UK Government is investing billions to help people of all ages back into work, including our £2 billion Kickstart scheme for young people, sector work programmes and recruitment of thousands of additional Work Coaches.

  • The UK Government continues to provide the bulk of Covid testing in Scotland and has moved quickly to buy vaccines for distribution across all parts of the UK. The UK Government is providing all Covid testing in Scotland outside of the NHS.

Published 15 September 2021