Convection is a well-observed atmospheric phenomenon, which has a fundamental role in global weather and climate. The transport of heat, moisture and momentum that result from convection are significant at a range of temporal and spatial scales. Convective clouds have a wide range of non-linear interactions with other atmospheric processes which make them difficult to understand and model numerically. Due to resolution constraints in climate models, sub-grid convection is represented by a parameterisation. Many parameterisation schemes are based on an assumed temporal and spatial separation between convection and its forcing. The implied equilibrium relates current convection directly to the large-scale forcing. The validity of the temporal scale separation is directly tested in this thesis by examining the convective response to a time-varying forcing.