In response to Paul Sweeney MSP, you stated you could provide written confirmation on points raised regarding comparisons between budgets and, specifically, between the autumn budget revision and budget positions. • The revised presentation of the 2025-26 budget document was adopted in response to the asks of the Finance and Public Administration Committee (FPAC) and external stakeholders such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) to have latest budget numbers used as the 2024-25 Budget comparator, rather than the Budget Act as passed by Parliament at the start of the year. • On this basis, the main comparator used in this years’ Scottish budget document is the Autumn Budget Revision to the 2024-25 Budget Act, which represents the latest budget approved by the Scottish Parliament for 2024-25. • This information supports a more meaningful analysis of the comparison of spending plans against the latest position. 2.