Scots are spending beyond their means

In July over 10.6 per cent of adults in Britain spent more than they earned, equating to more than 5 million people unable to make ends meet. This is based on a British banking population of 54.4 million. In England, 10.6 per cent of people spent more than they earned, down just 0.4 per cent on the previous month, compared to 10.4 per cent in Scotland (down 1.3 per cent) and 10.1 per cent in Wales (down 0.3 per cent).

Despite these challenges, Smart Data Foundry says the Nowcast shows there is room for some optimism about the nation’s purse strings – individual income rose sharply across all three countries with a nationwide average increase of 7.29 per cent from June to July.

England saw the biggest boost at 6.89 per cent, ahead of Scotland at 6.29 per cent and Wales at 5.81 per cent. However, Scots have the highest incomes overall – on average they are £27.56 per week better off than their English counterparts.

The Nowcast, which was launched earlier this year, has just been extended to include a breakdown of data on a nation-by-nation basis. Based on anonymised data from 5 million consumer bank accounts and over 100,000 UK SMEs, the Nowcast is designed to offer a unique view of shifts in economic wellbeing across consumers and small businesses.

The report shines a spotlight on three vital indicators of financial resilience and productivity across Great Britain – percentage of people spending more than they earn and average weekly income, both updated monthly, and small business productivity, updated each quarter.

The latest Nowcast also shows that:

• The average weekly income was £358.70 in Scotland, £333.09 in Wales and £331.14 in England.

• Across Great Britain, the average revenue generated per employee of small businesses in Q2 was £11,028 – a 4.19 per cent rise on Q1.

Dougie Robb, chief executive officer of Smart Data Foundry, said: “It’s valuable not only to see variations in economic resilience across Great Britain as a whole, but to be able to drill down into what is happening within each of the three nations.

“Whilst the precise reasons incomes are improving aren't always clear from the data, we believe there are a number of factors potentially driving this such as minimum wage increases being reflected in the data, people in sectors like hospitality and travel working additional hours over the summer months, and the payment of bonuses.

“The strength of the Nowcast lies in its ability to provide near real-time insights for policymakers, analysts, and service providers. By capturing monthly variations, emerging trends, and the economic impact of global events, extreme weather such as floods, and other shocks, it supplements official statistics and enhances the ability to respond to economic challenges quickly and effectively."

He added that over time he expects that the Nowcast will serve as a valuable indicator of the impact of key factors, such as recent interest rate cuts, changes to the energy price cap on consumers, and the effect of trade tariffs on small businesses.

Smart Data Foundry says it also plans to expand the reach of its Economic Wellbeing Explorer across Great Britain this Autumn. The interactive dashboard - which tracks economic resilience and wellbeing at national, regional, and local levels, and between age groups and income ranges - has already been adopted by several local authorities in Scotland.

Smart Data Foundry was established in 2022 to unlock the power of financial data to tackle big issues like poverty and inequality and create positive impact across society, the economy, and the environment.

Find out more here