To recap, Finance Secretary Shona Robison has said she will have to make £500m worth of cuts to balance Scotland's books.

Here are the key lines from her statement:

• As we mentioned, the finance secretary announced £500m of funding cuts as the government seeks to make savings in this financial year
• This was due to "enormous and growing" financial pressure, including additional costs of £800m in this financial year
• This financial pressure was caused by public sector pay deals, "prolonged" Westminster austerity, inflation, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine
• The Scottish government will reallocate up to £460m raised in an auction of seabed plots for offshore projects
• The finance secretary insisted she would balance the budget this year as it had done for 17 years
• The government had already introduced emergency curbs on all "non-essential" spending and Robison also signalled cuts in the public sector workforce
• Up to £60m will be saved through emergency spending controls imposed on government departments
• A further £65m is to be saved by reintroducing peak rail fares, axing concessionary travel for asylum seekers and allowing local authorities to finance pay deals by drawing on funds from existing programmes
• £188m will be cut across government departments – including a reduction in spend on sustainable and active travel, and increased interest income on a Scottish Water loan balance
• The Scottish government will announce more comprehensive spending plans for 2025-26 in its budget, which Robison aims to announce on 4 December

• Scottish Tory finance spokesperson Liz Smith argued the "black hole" was due to the Scottish government's own decisions
• Labour finance spokesperson Michael Marra blamed the cuts on “SNP incompetence”
• The pre-budget fiscal update comes the day before First Minister John Swinney is due to unveil his first programme for government - join us for extensive coverage of that tomorrow afternoon

That's all from the live page team today.

The editors were Catherine Lyst, Graeme Esson and Claire Diamond. The writers were Craig Hutchison, Jonathan Geddes and Ashleigh Keenan-Bryce.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have raised fears regarding how the cuts will affect NHS services.

They have pointed to a letter sent by Shona Robison to the Scottish Parliament’s finance committee saying £19m will be cut from mental health services, £11m removed from improvements for GP practices and £8m from scaling back training schemes for NHS staff.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "The finance secretary should crawl over broken glass to protect essential NHS services, people are already waiting far too long for mental health care and to see their GP.

“This is a fiscal firestorm of the SNP government’s own creation."

The SNP previously stated that some NHS roles would be exempt from a recruitment freeze.

Scotwind cash provides £460mpublished at 16:55 British Summer Time 3 September

16:55 BST 3 September

David Henderson
BBC Scotland Correspondent

Part of the government's spending gap will be filled with up with £460m from Scotwind revenue funding.

This is the cash from leasing Scotland's seabed to firms building offshore wind farms.

Shona Robison says she's doing this "reluctantly", as well she might.

Just two years ago, the then Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson said "we will invest from these monies to help tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crises."

So using it to fund day-to-day spending on public services seems a long way from that.

Robison says she wants to protect "as far as possible" that Scotwind revenue.

But it must have been hard to resist, when the alternative is deeper spending cuts.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has given its verdict on today's announcement, saying the Scottish government is "not blameless" for the funding gap.

David Phillips, an associate director at the research institute, agreed with Shona Robison that UK government funding was extremely tight and that "there is a case for giving the Scottish government some additional borrowing powers to address in-year public service spending pressures".

He added that the Scottish government had far fewer options to address pressures than the UK government, but that it "isn’t blameless here", pointing to last year's decision to freeze council tax as an example of a tax policy decision that reduced rather than raised revenues.

Philipps said: "The last few years have seen the Scottish government increase public sector pay, and roll out new, more generous social security benefits. These are legitimate things to prioritise. But they do reduce the amount available for other areas of spending and add to budgetary pressures."

Is the public sector too big?published at 16:34 British Summer Time 3 September

16:34 BST 3 September

David Henderson
BBC Scotland Correspondent

Is Scotland's public sector workforce too big and paid too much?

And is that, along with recent pay deals, partly to blame for this moment of crisis at Holyrood?

Shona Robison hinted as much, by extending a recruitment freeze across public bodies, beyond the Scottish government.

Why?

Scotland has more public sector workers than England, as a proportion of its population.

It's over 20% for Scotland - compared to about 18% for the UK as a whole.

Median public sector pay in Scotland is also higher than across the UK.

So if the Scottish government matches a 4% public sector pay deal for England, the impact on the Scottish budget is greater.

More workers and higher wages per head deliver that effect.

And even if the UK government funds a pay deal from a new tax rise, the knock-on Barnett funding for Scotland wouldn't be enough, as wages are higher here.

All this could create an annual problem - with the Scottish government having to find the money for wages from other spending priorities.

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

There’s been a lot of talk of “austerity” today. It’s a politically loaded term – but what’s the reality?

The charge is that the new Labour government aims to close a £22bn “black hole” in its budget via austerity policies, harking back to the era of Tory chancellors like George Osborne.

But that £22bn is an overspend in the public accounts; Labour arrived in office to find that more money had been spent than was expected, so ministers need to cut back in order to balance the books.

It’s not clear that this will actually result in Holyrood’s budget being reduced in-year.

Indeed, the Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has suggested that it might actually go up, once the impact of public sector pay deals down south is factored in.

So Labour insist that this isn’t austerity, because the overall level of public spending will still go up.

John Swinney’s contention, meanwhile, has been that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

The dictionary definition of austerity is economic policies consisting of tax increases, spending cuts or a combination of the two, used by governments to reduce budget deficits…and that does sound quite a lot like what Rachel Reeves has planned.

However, it may also sum up where Shona Robison will find herself come her own budget on 4 December.

Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent

This comes down to political choices.

It's true Scotland's budget is largely determined by its grant funding from Westminster.

But there are options for Scottish ministers too.

Public sector pay deals are, for the most part, negotiated here in Scotland.

The government could opt to offer workers smaller pay rises - but that would mean facing up to the prospect of strikes.

It would also prove tricky when the Scottish government has, in the past, lauded its own generosity, compared with less favourable pay deals for workers south of the border.

Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The Tories and Labour say this is a mess of the Scottish government's own making.

They blame what they describe as financial mismanagement for this situation.

Certainly, some of Scottish ministers' own decisions are, in part, what has led them to this point.

Public sector pay deals are the biggest factor at play here - with Shona Robison admitting ministers expect an additional bill of up to £0.8bn this year - a cost that is of course recurring in future years.

The SNP is raiding climate budgets and selling out Scotland's future to continue handouts of public cash to big business, argues Scottish Greens finance spokesman Ross Greer.

The Green MSP points to the return of peak rail fares, as well as cuts to the Nature Restoration Fund and to the budget for walking, wheeling and cycling which Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie had increased to record levels.

He says £460m is also being raided from the one-off income from Scotwind offshore wind energy projects.

Greer says: “This is a disaster for our climate.

"The SNP have chosen to slash spending on climate action and increase costs for commuters.

“With global temperatures rising, Scotland must be a climate leader but the SNP is taking us backwards."

"The SNP is paying lip service to the climate emergency, slashing critical spending whilst funding handouts to big business.”

The price of a pay risepublished at 16:05 British Summer Time 3 September

16:05 BST 3 September

David Henderson
BBC Scotland Correspondent

It looks like the latest public sector pay deals come with a hefty price tag - namely painful cuts to public services.

And the Scottish government's being reminded that its biggest area of spending is pay.

Public sector wages totalled around £25bn last year - more than half the total day-to day budget.

Now, the pay bill’s on the rise, with council workers, college lecturers and NHS staff all in line for a salary increase.

And those offers are well above the government’s own 3% target - so something has to give.

The finance secretary has slammed on the brakes with £500m of spending cuts.

So why has this happened?

Their political opponents accuse ministers of wishful thinking - of not setting aside enough money, months ago, to meet pay demands.

But for years, SNP ministers felt UK pay constraints were unrealistic amid a cost of living crisis.

So they've settled those pay claims in a way they think is reasonable.

But that comes at a cost to other budgets.

The Scottish Trade Unions Congress has responded to today's announcement by saying the Scottish government needs to take responsibility for past decisions.

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said the amount of cuts means "workers and communities across Scotland will be scarred for generations to come".

Foyer added that increased taxes on the wealthy would have helped plug funding gaps, and the SNP administration "cannot be allowed to escape scrutiny".

She added: “The people of Scotland do not want a Scottish government that administers cuts while annunciating the droopy mantra of ‘it wisnae me’. They want politicians that choose to govern – and that means taxing the rich to invest in the services that we all rely on.”

Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The finance secretary is also proposing to "reluctantly" use up to £460m cash raised via ScotWind.

That's the scheme that generates money through leasing Scotland's seabed, and it was intended for investment in the green economy.

Again, this is impacting on the environment - and will anger those who want ministers to prioritise tackling climate change.

The finance secretary hits back: "Michael Marra should read my lips - Labour austerity is as damaging as Tory austerity when it comes to public service cuts."

This of course echoes Anas Sarwar who during the election said: "Read my lips. No austerity under Labour."

Robison receives applause from her own ranks for this.

She points out that the Labour prime minister has announced there is a "difficult tough budget coming" after the Labour chancellor announced £22bn of public sector funding reductions.

She adds that it's a bit rich for Marra to come and lecture anyone about public finances.

Labour's Michael Marra is now questioning the finance secretary, calling her statement a "threadbare attempt to pass the buck".

He brings up several financial organisations, such as the Scottish Fiscal Commission, who previously stated that some of the cuts were needed due to the Scottish government's previous spending decisions, and claims that Scots were "paying more and getting less".

The SNP's decisions are "short-term sticking plasters" he says, before asking when full details of the cuts will be announced, concluding with a sarcastic query questioning if a date for "next year's crisis cuts statement" has already been planned.

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

It's important to note that the budget black hole being talked about today is not the same as the black hole the IFS was warning about ahead of the election - that was about future spending.

The cuts being announced today are to deal with in-year spending. The Scottish government must, by law, balance its books and Shona Robison has set out how she intends to do that.

With salaries making up more than half of the government's costs, the price tag for public sector salary increases is one of the key issues to be addressed.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission also points to other policy choices like funding a council tax freeze and higher levels of social security spending.

For its part, the Scottish government blames Westminster austerity, the impact of Brexit and a reckless mini budget for its financial challenges.

The finance secretary replies saying the Scottish Child Payment keeps 100,000 children out of poverty.

Robison says: "Yes we have funded fair pay deals and that has meant we have avoided some of the costly indsutrial action that we've seen blight public services in other parts of the UK."

She makes no apologies for the investment the Scottish government has made.

The cabinet secretary points out that the Scottish Fiscal Commission has highlighted the considerable uncertainty about how much funding will come from the UK government.

She points out that her government has to create the fiscal headroom to fund fair pay deals.

"We absolutely want to grow the Scottish economy," she says.

Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith says the Scottish Fiscal Commission has made it "abundantly clear" that much of the pressure facing the country's finances is down to the government's own decisions.

Smith cites examples of above inflation pay settlements for public sector workers and the gap between spending on devolved security and associated BJA funding.

She added: "And as Prof Roy said again this morning, the fact the Scottish economy has not been growing at the same rate as the UK economy since income tax was devolved, the Scottish government is missing out on £624m."

Smith asks if the finance secretary will put on record that the "large black hole" in Scotland's finances are down to the actions of the Scottish government, not Westminster.

Money for building projects to be hitpublished at 15:39 British Summer Time 3 September

15:39 BST 3 September

Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Shona Robison says the capital budget is being hit too - in short, that's the money the government spends on building stuff.

She's blaming that on funding from the UK government, and on inflation.

It means ministers won't be able to build everything they've promised - schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure could come under that category.

But there's no further details as yet on which particular projects will be hit.

Shona Robison says that she has proposed 4 December for the next Scottish budget.

She also says that tomorrow's Programme for Government announcement tomorrow will "set out in detail the steps we will take this year to boost fair, green economic growth."

She adds that "difficult decisions" will need be taken, and that "we cannot ignore the severe financial challenges we face".

Robison concludes her speech by calling on members across the chamber to "work together to navigate the challenges ahead".

A hint that income tax won't rise further?published at 15:37 British Summer Time 3 September

15:37 BST 3 September

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The Scottish government has not been shy about pulling on devolved fiscal levers in recent years, in particular over income tax.

Ministers are proud to have created a more “redistributive” system which raises more revenue from higher earners, to be spent on services for those most in need.

But Shona Robison has just told MSPs that “on the application of taxation, we can only go so far”, and that there would need to be “substantial reform to the tax system” to raise further significant sums.

Could that be a hint that there won’t be further income tax rises when she sets out her budget on 4 December?