GERS figures show value of the Union - Ian Murray

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth meets with students at Madras College in St Andrews, Fife. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

It shows the value to Scotland of being part of the UK in terms of extra public spending compared to the rest of the UK.

We pay our fair share – contributing our population share of UK tax revenue but the redistribution of wealth through the United Kingdom means we get more money back in public spending.

That’s how the Barnett formula in Scotland works. In fact – the accounts show that redistribution of wealth throughout the UK is worth £2417 more per person in extra public spending in Scotland. That’s the collective economic strength of the UK and money that could be spent on schools and hospitals if the Scottish Parliament chose to do so.

People in Edinburgh and across Scotland will be entitled to ask why they aren’t seeing better results from their public services because of this extra spending.

Take one of my own passions, education. Only last week, the exam results saw attainment across Scotland fall and the attainment gap between the richest and the poorest children widen to its highest ever level.

We should be doing more for our young people, giving them the opportunity to get on in life and succeed. Despite this extra funding and the hard work of dedicated teachers, they are being let down by the SNP government in Edinburgh.

At one point closing that attainment gap between our richest and poorest pupils was the top priority of the Scottish Government, closing that gap would make a transformative difference in the life chances of the poorest children and yet things are going in the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, our NHS appears in a state of permanent crisis despite this extra funding and the everyday heroics of NHS staff.

Almost one in six people in Scotland is on an NHS waiting list. In fact 132,247 people in NHS Lothian alone are waiting for a test or a procedure.

In our A&E departments almost 20,000 people have waited more than 8 hours in Lothian this year alone. A staggering 10,187 have waited more than 12 hours in an A&E waiting room. Often in pain.

None of this is the fault of doctors and nurses, admin staff, cleaners or porters. The buck stops with the SNP government in Edinburgh.

During the election I knocked door after door where people had horror stories about the impact waiting for treatment on the NHS was having on them. Many even considered going private or already had because they simply they had no other option. The pain was to great and the wait was too long. In many cases we now have a two-tier health service in Scotland.

The economic inactivity of this failure is considerable.

Our focus now should be delivering better results for the people of Scotland. I want to work with the Scottish Government to drive more economic growth, but we also need to drive down waiting lists in our hospitals and drive-up attainment in our schools, anything else lets down patients and pupils, as well as teachers and nurses.

Ian Murray MP, Labour MP for Edinburgh South and Secretary of State for Scotland