The view from the 'real world'

Mr McCleery is managing director of a family business in Midlothian

The latest business monitor from Lloyds TSB Scotland said the Scottish economy was "grinding to a halt".

George McCleery runs a family printing business in Milothian with 11 members of staff. He told the BBC about his experiences.

We do work for financial institutions, small businesses and really anyone who wants to give us money at the moment. We print brochures, business cards, leaflets and do exhibition work.

I think some of these economists need to come out to the real world and to speak to people like myself, but they sit in their offices and look at figures.

The business has not so much suffered a downturn, but what we have experienced is that the margins that you make and the profit you make are getting smaller and smaller.

You are having to work 200% harder just to survive. If you make a profit as a small business that is exceptional these days.

We have been based out here (on an industrial estate) for six years now and since we moved out here virtually every other business apart from two or three have closed down.

They have gone bust and moved on and that is a reflection of the economy. You can actually see it happening and I still cannot believe that these economists tell us we are not in a recession. Come out here and speak to me and I will tell you otherwise.

It is not actually going to get better for a good number of years, in fact it is never going to get back to the way it was because we're now in an international market which means everyone buys cheaper.

The economy isn't grinding to a halt it has ground to a halt.

In business the first thing at the moment is survival. You survive and then if you make a profit you are a really good business, but these people are not looking at us as part of the economy.

They are looking at bigger businesses and they are not the only ones that keep the economy going.