Scope of table variable within SQL cursor

Solution 1:

Yes, it does - the scope isn't defined by the begin / end statements, but by the end of a stored procedure, or a go

The scope of a variable is the range of Transact-SQL statements that can reference the variable. The scope of a variable lasts from the point it is declared until the end of the batch or stored procedure in which it is declared.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187953(v=sql.105).aspx

Solution 2:

Variable declarations in T-SQL are a bit of an odd beast - variable declarations ignore control flow.

This produces an error:

set @a = 2

This runs without issue, and doesn't print "Never":

if 1=0
begin
    print 'Never'
    declare @a int
end
set @a = 2

The lifetime of a variable is from the point of declaration until the batch completes.