I begin on a positive note, by welcoming something that the Scottish National Party Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government did yesterday—not announcing the disastrous SNP budget, of course, but holding up my letter to John Swinney for all of Scotland to see, which I thank her for. That letter set out how my party is proudly on the side of Scotland’s hard-working taxpayers and businesses, and I brought my own copy here today.

Instead of reducing tax, the SNP has dragged more Scots into paying higher income tax. Every worker here who earns more than £30,000 a year will be forced to pay more than those in the rest of the United Kingdom. How can the SNP boast about always taking more for public services that only ever get worse?

I reassure you, Presiding Officer, that, unlike Mr Findlay, I will not be using props in the course of my answer.

Mr Findlay helpfully reminds the public of the problem with the letter that he sent me the other week. His letter discloses a £950 million gaping hole at the very heart of Conservative taxation proposals to this Parliament. That reeks of economic incompetence, and that economic incompetence is a consistent approach for the Scottish Conservatives.

Because I know how much John Swinney appreciated my first letter, I sent him a second one this morning, which set out the savings that we would make. Our plans are reasonable, affordable, fully costed and fully funded and would deliver fairness for Scotland’s taxpayers, but the SNP proudly boasts that it will make Scottish workers pay £1.7 billion more next year than they would if they lived elsewhere in the UK.

The finance secretary even had the audacity to shout about reducing bills for lower earners, but the SNP’s con trick is worth, at most, £1 a month to people who earn less than £30,000—£1. What are people supposed to do with that? Buy a selection box from Poundland?

I think that Mr Findlay will have to practise his gags a little more after that one.

I have not seen Mr Findlay’s letter yet, because I was at an early learning centre this morning explaining the importance of the Government’s commitment to lift the two-child cap that the Conservatives imposed, which is sending children in our country into poverty.

I will have a good look at the letter when I get back upstairs, but I will tell Mr Findlay two things. First, if we look at tax alone, more than 50 per cent of taxpayers in Scotland are better off than those in the rest of the United Kingdom, as a consequence of the tax decisions that we have made. When we take tax and social security together, 60 per cent of taxpayers in Scotland are better off than they would be if they lived in the rest of the United Kingdom. That is what I call delivering for Scotland.

I hope that John Swinney learned something from the children at the early learning centre.

We know that public services never improve under the SNP. More taxpayers’ money is going to the national health service, but the SNP has no plans to reduce waiting lists or bureaucracy. This week, Scotland’s independent Auditor General said that the Government has no vision for our health service and that changes are “urgently needed”. Hospitals across Scotland are already in crisis, and while the SNP health secretary takes taxpayer-funded limos to Pittodrie, ambulances are being sent away from Aberdeen royal infirmary, yet the SNP Government makes only a rehashed pledge to reduce waiting times. That same promise was supposed to have been delivered by September—three months ago. Why would anyone believe that the SNP will keep its word this time?

Mr Findlay made the point that there is apparently no enhancement of public services in Scotland, but the early learning and childcare centre that I visited this morning is part of a network around the country that is supported by £1 billion of early learning and childcare investment. That has meant that, in this country, three and four-year-olds—and many two-year-olds—have access to 1,140 hours of early learning and childcare. That promise was made by the Scottish Government and delivered by this SNP Government.

Mr Findlay talks about efficiency in government. The Minister for Public Finance, Ivan McKee, who is sitting in the chamber, was referenced by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government yesterday as having a remit to address the issues of productivity and performance in public services. He is devoting his energy to doing that as part of the plans that the health secretary and other ministers are taking forward in our public services.

For Mr Findlay’s benefit, I say that this Government is absolutely determined to improve the performance of our public services. There are challenges in our public services that arise out of the disruptive effects of Covid, but this Government is 100 per cent focused on making sure—[ Interruption .]

Let us hear the First Minister.

This Government is 100 per cent focused on ensuring that the resources that we have decided to allocate to our public services have the effect of meeting the needs of the people of Scotland. That will happen only if this Parliament supports the Government’s budget. I invite Mr Findlay to do so.

I, for one, am delighted to hear that John Swinney is going to fix the mess that he has made over the past 17 years. He is going to begin fixing the mess that he has made over 17 long, miserable years.

The budget perfectly illustrates what a John Swinney Government looks like, with broken promises rehashed, no plans to fix the NHS, benefits rising out of control, bigger bills for businesses, higher taxes on workers and more waste on ferries and nonsense projects. People have had enough of taxes going up while public services decline. The budget might work inside the left-wing Holyrood bubble, but how does it help workers and businesses in the real world?

I suspect that businesses around the country will welcome the tripling of investment—[ Interruption .] Mr Burnett is laughing and Mr Lumsden, as usual, is out of his seat shouting and bawling. Maybe—[ Interruption .]

Members, let us settle.

Maybe Mr Lumsden and Mr Burnett can find it in themselves to welcome the tripling of investment in offshore renewables that the Government has put in place. Maybe they could welcome the £768 million investment in housing to boost affordable housing expenditure in Scotland. Perhaps they could welcome the £200 million refuelling of the Scottish National Investment Bank to strengthen the Scottish economy. That is this Government delivering to strengthen the economy in Scotland.