The Retail price index has long been a flagship marker on the state of the economy and the state of mind of the consumer.

Now Scotland is to get its own index, reflecting what we as Scots are buying and how confident we feel spending our hard earned cash.

Prof Sparks from Sterling University said:. "I suspect that we will see more and more businesses and organisations of this kind recognising that Scotland will have to be treated differently following the establishment of a Scottish parliament. There is a desperate need for data on a Scottish level. At present the data obtained at a national level does not tell us whether things are happening differently in Scotland - we have no real idea. Accurate information on a consistent basis is very important indeed."