Pam Gosal talked about how it affects each and every one of us. Nineteen years of SNP control has had a devastating effect: £528 million pressures are being talked about.

The cabinet secretary is not looking at this like-for-like. We on this side of the chamber reflect on what the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Fraser of Allander Institute say when they tell us that the Government is not giving enough funding to local government.

As I have said, we have to look at the shortfall in context. As we have already heard, tax increases are a decision for councils, but councils require funding to be given to them. The Government has starved councils for years, so residents will pay more and get less.

We have already heard that the average tax increase last year was about 9.5 per cent. In my region, SNP-run Clackmannanshire Council raised council tax by a staggering 13 per cent. This year, it is talking about having another funding gap of £7 million, while Stirling Council will have a gap of £12 million. Councils the length and breadth of Scotland are being squeezed.

COSLA has also highlighted that the latest Scottish budget delivers a poor funding settlement for local government. The Fraser of Allander Institute has indicated that the average bill will have to rise by 8 per cent this year alone for budgets to stay where they should be. The Government is not putting anything forward; it continues to short-change local government and councils across Scotland.

One way of dealing with that would be to secure a guaranteed share of the Scottish budget. We have been saying that for a number of years. The Fraser of Allander Institute has also indicated that a decrease in funding will continue. We first talked about that being done in relation to local government funding many years ago. We are still talking about it today.

We have heard lots of contributions this afternoon. My colleague Craig Hoy talked about the devastation that councils are facing, with cuts upon cuts, and about how more people will receive more bills that are going up this year. Bills are going in the wrong direction. That is affecting hard-working families, hard-working businessmen and women, and hard-working individuals. The consultation should be ditched. We are happy to stand on the side of the hard-working taxpayer.

We also heard from the cabinet secretary that any reform must be fair. How is it fair to hammer hard-working Scots?

Michael Marra talked about the importance of the council tax freeze that has been forced on councils by this Government. That is undermining and underfunding councils year on year.

Once again, the cabinet secretary has claimed that local government funding has risen in real terms. Given that the Scottish Fiscal Commission, the Fraser of Allander Institute and the Institute for Fiscal Studies talk about a 0.4 per cent increase in real terms, does she accept that councils the length and breadth of Scotland will have to pay more to get less and that individuals and communities will suffer as a result of the budget?

Good morning. In its evidence, the Association of Scottish Self-Caterers suggested that the per-person, per-night option would be problematic in reality. Would the Scottish Government consider removing that option? The association certainly feels that it creates some anomalies and that it would be better if it was not there.

As you rightly identify, we are trying to get the balance right so that there is no burden on those organisations or individuals. The whole idea of a per-person option could be very challenging in some types of accommodation, depending on how many people stay and for how many nights. The sector has said that it opens a can of worms in some ways and that managing it could be unworkable.

How do you gauge, depending on the timescale and length of stay, how many people remain overnight in accommodation, given that their movements vary and they might travel around and return at different times and on different dates? The number of people might cause some difficulties. Do you see the process as unworkable?

::To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of permanent teaching posts for newly qualified teachers. (S6O-05444)

::Figures show that nearly nine in 10 newly qualified primary teachers are stuck in temporary posts or doing supply work, without a permanent job. That is not what they signed up to when they trained to become teachers. How does the cabinet secretary explain the collapse of permanent primary teaching jobs after years of Scottish National Party promises to expand the workforce?

::An inspection at Forth Valley royal hospital’s adult mental health unit has caused significant concerns. Issues have been raised about patient support and protection at the hospital. Individuals who should have been under continuous observation were allowed to gain access to open spaces and even to the roof. What measures can be put in place to ensure the safety of those vulnerable individuals?

Figures show that nearly nine in 10 newly qualified primary teachers are stuck in temporary posts or doing supply work, without a permanent job. That is not what they signed up to when they trained to become teachers. How does the cabinet secretary explain the collapse of permanent primary teaching jobs after years of Scottish National Party promises to expand the workforce?

An inspection at Forth Valley royal hospital’s adult mental health unit has caused significant concerns. Issues have been raised about patient support and protection at the hospital. Individuals who should have been under continuous observation were allowed to gain access to open spaces and even to the roof. What measures can be put in place to ensure the safety of those vulnerable individuals?