Schools are set to receive a funding boost in the spending review, a Cabinet minister has indicated, as he insisted other public services must “do their bit” amid concerns about cuts to other budgets.

Professor Graham Easton said much like blood pressure drugs, ‘if you want lifelong effects, you have to keep on them lifelong’.

The First Minister said he intended to win the 2026 Holyrood election and that the SNP would ‘get stronger’ after losing in Hamilton.