On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Yesterday, during the stage 3 debate on the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill, Jenny Marra challenged me to audit Scotland’s 32 local authorities and stated that, if I did so, I would find that the Labour Party has “far more female councillors” than the SNP across the nation. I have done that, and I have discovered that Labour has 103 female councillors in Scotland while the SNP has 105.
What is your point of order Mr McDonald?
I am sure that Ms Marra did not mean to mislead the chamber and that she will want to correct the record at the earliest available opportunity.
As Mr McDonald well knows, and as I have said many times before, I am not responsible for the accuracy of what is said during proceedings. That is neither a point of order nor a matter for me as Presiding Officer.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Would the First Minister like to take an early opportunity to correct the misleading information that he gave about the St John’s hospital closure? It is not about the recruitment of paediatric staff but about the decision to withdraw training posts. That has already resulted in the closure of wards in Kirkcaldy two years ago, and both closures followed the 2009 chief executive’s letter that reduced the number of junior doctor training posts in Scotland.
As I have just said—I have said it many times before and I have no doubt that I will have to say it many times in the future—I am not responsible for the accuracy of what is said during debates. That was neither a point of order nor a matter for me, as Presiding Officer.
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First Minister’s Question Time