The cost of living is hitting hard for people across Scotland, and John Swinney promised to help—so, what is he doing? He is cutting income tax—but only for some, and by a maximum of £31.75 a year. That works out at 61p a week. That would not even buy you a bag of peanuts.

Peanuts!

John Swinney’s budget might even—[ Laughter .]

Let us carry on with our business.

Rachael Hamilton is entirely right—it would not even buy you a bag of peanuts.

John Swinney’s budget might even have broken a world record, because a Scottish Government tax adviser says that it

“may be the smallest tax cut in history”.

Does John Swinney really think that his insulting tax cut will actually help Scotland’s struggling households?

I am pleased to see that auditions for pantomime dame are being entered early by Rachel Hamilton in Parliament today. Frankly, that was pantomime stuff from the Conservatives.

The Conservative Party has come forward with a proposition for tax cuts that would involve £1 billion-worth of cuts to public expenditure, but with not a scrap of detail about how those would be delivered. That is a false proposition.

My Government has brought forward a range of measures that build on existing cost of living support, such as free prescriptions, free eye tests and the free bus travel that is available in Scotland—[ Interruption .]

Can I just ensure that we can all hear one another? That would be helpful—and it is, of course, necessary.

—with an expansion of support for breakfast clubs and additional investment in after-school activities, with measures that have been taken through the extra time programme, with an increase in the Scottish child payment and with an expansion of the Scottish child payment for babies under one year. That is a demonstration of a Government that is on the side of the people of Scotland, and I am proud of the measures that we set out in the budget on Tuesday.

John Swinney gave those taxpayers a miserly cut—not to help anyone, but to get a cheap and easy headline. For many others, income taxes will rise even further.

One of the reasons for John Swinney’s tax raid is so that he can spend even more on benefits. We value the safety net for those who are in genuine need—[ Interruption .]

Let us hear Mr Findlay.

—but the Scottish National Party’s benefits bill is out of control, and it will now go up by another £650 million. [ Interruption .] I will keep saying it, no matter how noisy SNP members are: Scotland cannot afford this. The Scottish Conservatives believe that taxes cannot keep rising in order to fund higher spending on benefits. Why does John Swinney not understand that his reckless approach is unfair and unsustainable?

Nobody in Scotland takes seriously Russell Findlay’s claim that the Conservative Party values the safety net of social security, because, every week, its members come to the Parliament and attack the very social security expenditure that is keeping children out of poverty.

As a matter of fact, the updated Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts show a substantial reduction in the Scottish Government’s benefits investment over and above the block grant adjustments received from the United Kingdom Government. That demonstrates that the action that the Scottish Government is taking is sustainable. As is demonstrated by our budget—and as we have always done since we formed the Government—we propose costed financial programmes that deliver real benefits for the people of Scotland. The Conservatives are unable to match the Scottish Government’s record on financial stewardship and support for vulnerable people in our country.

We value social security, but we will always tell the truth about the SNP’s out-of-control, unaffordable benefits bill. John Swinney’s economic approach is ruinous, but there is another way. The only responsible, credible and sustainable way to raise more revenue for public services is by growing Scotland’s economy, which can be achieved by supporting those who create jobs and generate wealth.

However, Scottish businesses face tax rises of almost £300 million in the coming weeks, and their verdict on John Swinney’s budget is damning. The Confederation of British Industry Scotland is calling it a “missed opportunity”; UK Hospitality Scotland says that it “missed the mark spectacularly” on business support; and the Federation of Small Businesses says that ministers must “urgently reconsider their approach” to economic growth. When will John Swinney learn that he has to back business and not attack it?

I recognise the challenges that are always felt in the business community. Of all the things that I could be accused of as a member of the Government, that is not one. I have always had very close and active dialogue with the business community in Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s budget for the forthcoming financial year will ensure the lowest basic property rate since 2018-19 and will support business and communities with a package of reliefs that will be worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27.

In response to a key ask from the business community about increased support for the college sector, the Government has increased the colleges budget by £70 million. Another call from the business community was for support for infrastructure investment. We have set out our plans on infrastructure. [ Interruption .]

Let us hear one another.

Yesterday, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport told the Parliament about the delivery of plans to dual the A9, which is one of the central economic pledges of the Scottish Government.

At a time when unemployment is lower in Scotland than it is in the rest of the United Kingdom, and gross domestic product per capita has increased at a faster rate in Scotland than it has in the rest of the UK, the Scottish Government is delivering for the Scottish economy, and we will carry on doing so.

The First Minister says that he recognises the challenges facing businesses, but then he decides to make them worse.

For the avoidance of any doubt, the Scottish Conservatives will not and cannot back a budget that does nothing to help Scotland’s workers and businesses. Having been delivered by a finance secretary who is running for the hills, this budget hammers people with higher taxes to fund a bloated benefits system. It is absolutely mind blowing that Labour and the other so-called Opposition parties will let this SNP boorach of a budget pass. It is a desperate budget that kills aspiration, a damaging budget that harms business and a dishonest budget that will need to be fixed within months.

It is the same old John Swinney. Do the people of Scotland not deserve lower taxes, fairer benefits and a Government that is focused on economic growth?

Our budget delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland, strengthening our national health service and supporting people and businesses on cost of living challenges. In the budget, the Scottish Government is expanding the best package of cost of living support anywhere—

Rubbish!

I am sorry to interrupt, First Minister. I know, Mr Kerr, that you share my view that we should always carry ourselves in a very parliamentary manner. I would be grateful if you might demonstrate that.

As I said, this budget delivers on the priorities of the people of Scotland about strengthening our national health service and about supporting people and businesses with the cost of living. Thanks to our decisions, 55 per cent of Scottish taxpayers are now expected to pay less income tax than they would do if they lived in England. The people of Scotland have a Government that is on their side, and all the current indications show that the people of Scotland want to have this Government here for the long term, to stay on their side.