Business Secretary Sajid Javid has advised the Scottish Government to look at deregulating much more to help productivity and growth north of the border.
The Tory minister said while the UK Government had been working to cut red tape, the Scottish Government had been working hard to boost regulation.
He was replying to a question from Michelle Thomson MP, the SNP’s Westminster spokeswoman on Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Edinburgh West MP asked the UK Government to support the SNP’s call for a change to remove the “sudden decrease” in the investment allowance from £500,000 to £25,000 from January.
Mr Javid said: “If the SNP wants to help business in Scotland, then it should look at deregulating much more.
“Many of the areas that are devolved to Scotland, whereas the UK Government has been working hard in cutting regulation, the Scottish Government has been working hard in boosting regulation.
“That is one of the best ways to help productivity and growth in Scotland.”
Earlier, Ms Thomson asked why the Business Secretary believed productivity would rise in the lifetime of this parliament when it fell during the last one.
She said UK productivity was 17% lower than the average for other G7 nations.
Mr Javid said it had been a long-term challenge for the UK and pointed to the progress made by the previous Government which did a “huge amount” to turn around the economic fortunes of the UK.