We have to reflect the financial reality that the Government is currently working with. We have seen a £1.3 billion cut to our capital budget and financial transactions reduced by 60 per cent. In spite of some of those cuts, we have still delivered a far higher per head of population level of house building under this Government than in England or, indeed, Wales. Of course, challenges persist, but we are making that investment.

In the education and skills sector—I declare an interest, as my wife is a teacher—Scotland has the highest level of spending per pupil in the United Kingdom, and the highest teacher pupil ratio. Last year, we invested £8,500 per school pupil, compared with £7,200 per pupil in England and Wales. Since the SNP abolished tuition fees, the number of new Scottish university students has grown by 31 per cent, and we have a record number of students from our most deprived communities.

On social security, the Government is spending record sums this year, with £6.3 billion for benefit expenditure. That is £1.1 billion more than the UK Government gives the Scottish Government for social security. That demonstrates our commitment to tackling poverty, supporting people and avoiding the need for people to rely on those public services. We are investing £614 million in new benefits and payments that are available only in Scotland, such as our landmark Scottish child payment.

I turn to some of the comments that have been made from the front benches. Liz Smith made a point about the block grant. In real terms, the block grant was lower in 2020-21 than it was in 2009-10. We have had 10 years of underinvestment and a decade of austerity. In recent years, there has been a 4 per cent real-terms decrease in total block grant expenditure between 2022 and 2024-25.