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That is very helpful. Work across Government is important, but so is work between different Governments. I get your frustration that Scottish Government statutory targets can be impacted by decisions that are taken elsewhere in the UK, which can knock strategies off course. One Parent Families Scotland told us that the child maintenance service, which is a UK reserved responsibility, presents a significant issue for a lot of low-income, vulnerable families. One Parent Families Scotland has specifically asked whether the Scottish Government would consider funding advice services. Such services are not necessarily the Scottish Government’s responsibility, but it is an idea about working in partnership or in a complementary way on this.

I put it on the record that I know that we also have a statutory duty to maximise the uptake of devolved benefits. I know that the cabinet secretary is not blinkered to the opportunities to maximise the uptake of benefits, including reserved ones, across the board, even though neither that nor the child maintenance service are Scottish Government responsibilities. What added value can the Scottish Government give to assisting one-parent families to get the money that they need and deserve?

I have one specific question about electric vehicles. I do not know whether we have covered it already, cabinet secretary, but it is linked to the point that the convener has been making.

There was a discussion earlier about the cost of new electric vehicles, and I thought that we could take the time, during the meeting, to check the market. There is some evidence to show that electric vehicles are now cheaper in the used market than internal combustion engine vehicles. One periodical suggests that, over a five-year lifespan, used EVs could be £5,000 cheaper to run than ICE vehicles. I am putting that on the record because the market will dictate much of what the costs and benefits are. I have no doubt that the periodical that I am looking at is encouraging people to switch to EVs. I do not know how robust those figures are—or, indeed, all the figures that have arisen in the exchanges that the committee has been having with you and Mr Raines.

In relation to electric vehicles and the just transition, I am conscious of the conversation that we have been having about the challenges facing people in remote and rural areas and about the specific actions that the Government has taken in response. I represent a high-density urban area, with many tenements. You have said to Mr Lumsden that it is self-evident that there will be more challenges in certain areas. I accept all of that—and I am sorry that I am taking so long to get to my point—but I would be keen to know how all of this will be monitored. What if we find out that certain households will have to pay more, will have less convenience and will be more price sensitive? Those households tend to be in lower-income areas with higher-density populations. How will that be monitored or captured? Will the Government take corrective action in future? If, in three or four years’ time, we see an inequity for my constituents, what actions can the Government take to correct some of that?

I have a very brief follow-up question, cabinet secretary—again, it might be one for you to consider rather than answering just now.

Clearly, as Cabinet Secretary for Transport, you will have a lot of budget priorities. You have mentioned some of those today, and many are linked to net zero. However, difficult decisions have to be made, and we have another cabinet secretary in charge of the net zero aspect. What is the interaction between those two portfolios in coming to those decisions?

Cabinet secretary, the “Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: climate change taxonomy” document, at the very end under the heading “Next steps”, says:

“the Scottish Government has launched a Net Zero Assessment of new and significant expenditure, which will be mainstreamed … throughout early 2026.”

The committee would be interested to know how those net zero assessments work in practice. It would be helpful if you were able to give us an example of the decision-making process that leads to specific budget decisions that are embedded in the draft budget before us.

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I will not come back in on that, but I note that it is an emerging area of scrutiny for committees, as we go forward, to understand the decisions that Governments are making, and how they are made through that prism.

That is helpful.

My only additional question on that relates to how local authorities are key partners here—and three local authorities are involved in the pilot that you mentioned earlier. Local authorities sometimes collect data in different ways. A local authority may make a case to the Government about the particular impact of the just transition in its area. Indeed, 32 local authorities may capture that data in different ways, and it will perhaps be a challenge for the Government to work out where the greatest need is. Will there be consistency in local authority data?

I was trying to put the word “error” in context, which is important. The Scottish Government sets its policies in the context of what it anticipates the next year will be like and on forecasts that are set by the Scottish Fiscal Commission. Any shocks, if you like, to projected income can have massive and speedy implications for the Scottish budget. For example, Justine Riccomini referenced exposure to UK policy changes; I am not seeking to make a constitutional point, because the UK Government should get on and change its policy as it sees fit. Potential deficits increased by £1 billion plus and quickly decreased again because of a UK Government policy turnaround. However, that might not have been the case.

I come to my substantial question. The Fiscal Commission has to project what the effect of potential policy changes might be without having a crystal ball. The Scottish Government has to set its budgets, which are always balanced. That is all within the context of the fiscal framework, which is supposed to allow for a degree of flexibility. A review of the fiscal framework is coming up. Do you think that the time is right to look at it again so that we can ensure that the flexibilities and provisions are appropriate?

That is helpful. I am trying to understand what the Scottish Government can do when it feels that there is a shock to its budget, other than to cut its cloth to achieve a balanced budget, which would mean cuts or tax rises elsewhere.

The Scottish Government has resource borrowing of more than £600 million per annum, which—if my notes are right—is capped at about £1.8 billion in cumulative terms. Once you borrow, if there is a recurring shortfall, there are issues, but can that borrowing be used to make up such shortfalls, or is it only for shortfalls in tax projections?

I appreciate that. Ironically, that would be a forecast error—not a forecast error in taxation, but a forecast error in relation to anticipated block grant revenue. Forecast errors in taxation or social security can be used for resource borrowing, but not forecast errors in block grant adjustments. The fiscal framework could perhaps look at smoothing out such income shocks.

The Scottish Government has a reserve limit of around £700 million—perhaps a bit more—that it can bank for a rainy day, for lack of a better expression. Does that seem like the right sum for the Scottish Government to retain in reserves for such rainy days, or even just to smooth out year-on-year fluctuations? Could that be used to plug funding gaps ahead of taking a more structured view of how you might want to address any structural deficits?

I will put in context why I have been asking these questions. The future committee for social justice and social security will have to get its head around future budgets and budget scrutiny. We are trying to work out what levers are at the Scottish Government’s disposal to plan effectively in relation to future social security spend—the Fiscal Commission has that challenge, too—and whether the fiscal framework can be changed in a way that gives the Scottish Government more certainty in that planning process. Would you like to make any final comments about the fiscal framework that a future social security committee of the Scottish Parliament should absolutely be focused on?