To ask the First Minister what assessment has been made by the Scottish Executive of the impact of increased public spending. (S1F-588)

As Michael McMahon knows, public spending will increase by £1.2 billion, £2.3 billion and £3.4 billion over the three years to 2003-04 cumulatively. That will have a substantial impact on the provision of services in Scotland. That spending has been widely welcomed and is dramatic. Health spending will increase by nearly 15 per cent by 2003-04, justice spending by nearly 13 per cent, transport spending by 45 per cent and education spending by 17 per cent. Those are substantial results, and there will be a multiplier effect, particularly in local government but also in many other areas of employment, which I think will be widely welcomed.

I join the First Minister in welcoming the positive impact of the Scottish Executive's spending strategy. Does he agree that the alternative of cutting public services rather than investing in them would cause massive and long-lasting problems for communities and businesses throughout Scotland, but especially in Lanarkshire? Does he agree that there is no place in Scotland for the slashing of public services, and that employees in the public services in Scotland should also benefit from the Executive's spending strategy to boost their morale?

I certainly agree with Michael McMahon about that. At the moment we are faced with a debate that has a certain air of unreality about it. We have a bid on the table, one might say, and a firm intention and declaration, which will be met. From other parts of the political horizon there come some very strange claims, which do not stand even the most cursory examination. The important point is to get on with the business of improving public services in Scotland, reaching levels of public spending that are higher in real terms than ever before, and ensuring that the quality of life for those who depend on those services is improved.

Will the First Minister confirm that, at the end of the period to which he referred, Labour will be investing a lower proportion of the national wealth in public services than was invested when the Conservatives left office? Is that true, or is that another secret?

I will certainly look very carefully at that. However, I can tell Andrew Wilson that, in real terms, the level of public spending will be higher than ever before. It may be that, as a percentage of gross domestic product, there is another picture, but that is because of the Government's success in expanding GDP.