The Scotsman today carries two stories which surely must be linked. The first notes that the number of students leaving Scotland’s schools without any maths qualification has nearly doubled under the SNP. The second reports that youth unemployment has risen by 2.4%.

The SNP calls the rise in unemployment a “small increase”, but the reality is that the Scottish Government can’t continue to preside over a declining education system without it having an impact on the ability of Scotland to attract investment.

It’s now an accepted fact that SNP cuts to school budgets and their bungled implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence have resulted in a decline in education standards in absolute and relative terms.

The SNP’s response to this appears to be to publish strategy after strategy, as if these can enable teachers to do more with less time and money.

Let’s hope that Labour, the Lib-Dems and the Greens refuse to back the SNP minority government’s budget until it contains a genuine commitment to invest in our schools, colleges and universities.

Holyrood now has the powers to make education in Scotland great again. Let’s use those powers to ensure young Scots are equipped to be the next generation of engineers, innovators and leaders that Scotland needs to compete internationally.