The Auditor General’s latest report on the Scottish National Party Government’s spending and public services is absolutely scathing. He lays bare the risks that are facing critically important front-line services because of this Government’s lack of transparency. He says that the Scottish Government

“has not been sufficiently transparent with the Scottish Parliament or the public about the current fiscal situation.”

Why is John Swinney’s Government so addicted to secrecy and so disrespectful towards the paying public?

There are two points that I would make in response to Mr Findlay’s question. The first is on the question of fiscal sustainability. The Government has balanced the budget for every one of the 17 years that it has been in power and, as a consequence, we have lived within our means on every occasion that we have had a budget to balance.

The second point that I would make is on the question of transparency around the financial challenges that are facing the Parliament. I do not think that anyone listening to anything that ministers have said over the past 14 years could have in any way escaped the reality we have set out that the fiscal constraint of the austerity of the Conservatives has put unbearable burdens on our public finances and that this Government has delivered against that formidably difficult climate.

That is just the usual SNP whataboutery. This is not the first independent investigation into SNP finances, and I am quite sure that it will not be the last.

The Auditor General says :

“The Scottish Government does not know what savings will result from reform, or what reform efforts will cost”.

I will put that into layman's terms: this chaotic Government does not have a clue. It does not know how much its plans will cost or even how much money it might save. Here is a chance for John Swinney to be more transparent. Does he have any idea—any idea at all—how much his proposed reforms will save taxpayers?

As I said in my first answer, the Government has lived within the resources that are available to us. We have balanced the budget. Is that not evidence enough for Mr Findlay that this Government is able to manage the public finances whenever we have the opportunity to do so?

On 4 December, the Government will set out a budget to Parliament, which will be the accumulation of the choices that we have made about how we invest in our public services and what we ask people to pay to support those public services. That is the honest conversation that this Government has with the people of Scotland. That is what we have done in the past, and that is what we will do again on 4 December.

John Swinney does not seem to have a clue. I commend the Auditor General’s report to him, because he clearly has not read it.

The Auditor General says that the Government has broken a commitment to deliver savings. If John Swinney would like to listen, I will quote extensively from the Auditor General. He says that there is no

“clear vision”

for improving public services; that

“the impact on outcomes is not currently considered or monitored”;

and that the Government

“is not providing effective leadership.”

Under the SNP, there is no leadership, no transparency and no answers; just broken promises, pathetic excuses and ministers making it up as they go along. That is what a John Swinney Government really looks like, does it not?

Russell Findlay might be in a slightly stronger position to argue his case—[ Interruption .]

Excuse me, First Minister. I ask members to refrain from interrupting those who have been called to speak.

Mr Findlay might be in a slightly stronger position to provide analytical support to the Parliament if he had not been the person who argued that I should follow the example of Liz Truss. If I had followed the example of Liz Truss, we would have acute problems in the balancing of our budget this year, because Liz Truss and her loyal Scottish ally Russell Findlay would have taken us to the economic and fiscal disaster that she inflicted on the United Kingdom. All I can say is, thank goodness I never inflicted that on Scotland.

Dearie me. It is not my party that is under investigation for financial fraud and is sacking half its staff this week, for goodness’ sakes. John Swinney will leave public services even worse off and waste taxpayers’ money on a grand scale.

The Auditor General states it plainly:

“The Scottish Government cannot afford its current spending choices”.

Auditor General reports are like groundhog day. The same problems are laid bare year after year, but the SNP never, ever learns from its mistakes. Instead, we get broken SNP promises and broken public services. SNP ministers are casually wasting public money with absolutely no regard for hard-working taxpayers. Does the latest report not prove once and for all that John Swinney and the SNP cannot be trusted with our public finances?

Those issues will be considered as part of parliamentary consideration of the budget, which will come after 4 December, when the finance secretary sets out our proposals to the Parliament.

During the week, I got a letter from Mr Findlay setting out the financial propositions of the Conservative Party. On the one side, Mr Findlay argued for a tax cut that would cost, in his estimation—not mine—£1 billion, or £1,000 million. On the other side, Mr Findlay gave me a paragraph about the savings that will be delivered to achieve his £1,000 million tax cut. Those savings amounted to a grand total of £53.74 million. There is a £950 million gaping hole in Mr Findlay’s arguments to me this week. Do not dare come here and lecture me about public finances with the ineptitude that you demonstrated in your letter to me this week.

Let us ensure that we always speak through the chair.