Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, December 15, 2016

Official Report 916KB pdf

Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer.

At First Minister’s question time this afternoon, Nicola Sturgeon said in response to a question from Kezia Dugdale that there is

“evidence of a narrowing of the attainment gap in terms of access to universities.”

In fact, today’s figures, which are independently verified by the Scottish Parliament information centre, show that the gap between applicants from the most deprived and the least deprived backgrounds has increased over the past two years.

It is clear that the First Minister’s comment was inaccurate. Will you allow time for Nicola Sturgeon to correct the record on this important measure of her Government, especially given that tackling the rising attainment gap is apparently her Government’s top priority?

Thank you for the advance notice of a point of order. That was not a point of order. However, the First Minister will have heard your comments, and if she chooses to correct the record or correct your understanding of what she said, it is up to her to do so.