It is a privilege to respond to this debate. I congratulated the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath on securing this debate and expressed that valuable debating time could have been better focused on matters of immediate importance. The Minister stated that now is not the time to talk about another referendum, as per the unanimous ruling of the United Kingdom Supreme Court. He emphasized that Scotland has a strong democracy but the power to hold a referendum rests with Westminster. The Scottish Parliament can legislate in all areas given by the Scotland Acts 1998, 2012, and 2016, making it one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments globally. He highlighted that people want their Governments focused on issues like economic stability, inflation, energy bills, NHS support, climate change, Ukraine, and levelling up rather than constitutional division. The Minister pointed out the benefits of the Union, such as higher public spending for Scotland worth around £2,000 per year for every Scot and a record block grant settlement of £41 billion over three years. He also mentioned multibillion-pound investments in Scotland's defence and shipbuilding industries, the city and growth deals programme investing in infrastructure, and local councils delivering real devolution by levelling up communities. The Minister concluded that another divisive referendum is the wrong priority at this time due to real challenges facing people across the country.