Ask UK

So, while I've never solely been HR (I've mostly worked at start-ups or SMEs and worn a lot of different hats at all times), I've done a lot of hiring at different companies in the UK.

I have always been of the opinion that the CV explains what you've done so far, and the covering letter / personal statement should then explain why what you've done makes you a viable candidate. So the CV is about you, the personal statement is about you and the role/company. You certainly don't have to cover the spec points in order (and don't even always need to cover them all). Just sure you address as many of the 'essential' elements as possible. But, even if you can't cover them all you might still be a viable candidate. I've hired people who had skill gaps because they had some stuff I really cared about and I knew we could teach them to cover the missing stuff.

Caveat: this was before AI. I assume that's fucked the human element of the entire process completely in a lot of companies. For <20 headcount orgs your application might still end up in front of a human.