A UK minister has insisted she would "bet good money" the SNP will fail to deliver when new powers are devolved to Holyrood.

Anna Soubry told the Commons she struggles to receive economy lessons from the "ragtag and bobtail" SNP, which she dismissed as including everything from "Tartan Tories right across to Tartan Trots".

Speaking during a debate on the economy, the Business Minister also claimed an independent Scotland would have been in the "most atrocious economic place" due to falls in oil prices.

She was replying after the SNP's Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) challenged Ms Soubry over the Government's so-called National Living Wage, which is expected to rise above £9 an hour by 2020 although will only apply to workers aged 25 and over.

Ms Thewliss asked Ms Soubry: "Do you agree there's actually no comfort for workers under the age of 25 in this new minimum wage because they will not qualify for it?

"They will still languish on wages of around £3.87 an hour, which is not good enough."

Ms Soubry replied: "Could I just say to you I think it's very interesting the number of companies who are introducing the new living wage irrespective of the age of their employees. I absolutely welcome that.

"But you know what, every good thing we do we always have to have somebody who comes along and knocks us and always wants something more.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting more but give credit where credit is due - this is a huge achievement we have done and I'm proud that it's a Conservative Party that's done it.

"And I have to say I really do struggle with having lessons on the economy from the Scottish National Party."

She criticised the SNP's oil projections for an independent Scotland, adding: "Goodness me, we now have a position where oil is, what, 35 (US) dollars a barrel and it's accepted that the cost if they'd been successful would be somewhere in the region of £5,000 to every single household.

"Scotland would have been in the most atrocious economic place if it had voted for independence and, as I say, thank goodness the good people of Scotland took the wise decision that we were undoubtedly better together.

"So it's really difficult for me to take lessons from this ragtag and bobtail of the SNP that encompasses everything from Tartan Tories right across to Tartan Trots.

"It really is going to be very interesting as the Smith Commission and the Scotland Bill comes into power - they will finally have the powers they seek, the most devolved government in the world and then they'll have responsibility and then we'll see whether they are going to be able to deliver.

"I would bet good money they will not be able to."

The SNP's economy spokesman Stewart Hosie later told Ms Soubry: "It only took you 12 minutes to revert to type.

"Ragtag and bobtail if you like, that is nothing compared to the way the Scottish people describe your party.

"If we can just clear up one little fact on the oil price, I thought you might raise it.

"Yes, we did say it'd be 110 (US) dollars a barrel, that's absolutely correct.

"Can we be absolutely clear that the UK Government's own Department for Energy and Climate Change had the barrel price at between 114 and 127 dollars a barrel and at the very least admit the UK Government got it wrong."

Ms Soubry insisted her point was the SNP had based Scotland's economic future on oil, adding: "How mad was that?"

Callum McCaig, the SNP's energy and climate change spokesman, accused Conservative MPs of expressing "sheer joy" at the collapse of the oil price despite it resulting in job losses.

The MP for Aberdeen South told Ms Soubry: "If I may turn to the oil price and the sheer joy expressed by members in this chamber at the collapse of the oil price - and I look at the man sitting directly behind you (Tory MP Mark Pawsey, a parliamentary aide to Ms Soubry), the joy and the delight almost on his face.

"In the real world, in the constituency I represent, that means jobs are being lost.

"You have expressed your delight at the fact of Scotland staying in the union. So can you explain to me what the union is doing to help Scotland at its moment of need?"

Ms Soubry replied: "It's not for me to speak on behalf of others but I can assure you there was no joy at the fall of the oil price on this side.

"The joy, I'd like to think, was in the point that I made and made it rather well, which was to say that you are in a party that put all its faith in the oil prices, the salvation of their economy, and they were absolutely wrong."

She added Mr McCaig made a good point over concerns for the future of the oil and gas industry, and particularly the oil industry in the north east of Scotland.

Ms Soubry went on: "I'm also well aware of the redundancies announced yesterday by BP and I'd agree with you that there's much we can do.

"Note the we - it'd be so good for the UK Government to work with the Scottish Government to make sure that we do all we can.

"We have a fantastic oil industry based largely in Aberdeen. It's one of the finest in the world and there is much we can do working together to make sure that we don't see further job losses - especially on the scale we've seen."