Sarwar accuses Swinney of ‘betrayal’ on education as attainment gap widens
Anas Sarwar accused John Swinney of a “betrayal” of young working-class Scots, as they clashed over Scotland’s education performance.
The First Minister shot back saying Labour only delivers “broken promises”, as he defended the SNP’s record on closing the attainment gap.
At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, the Scottish Labour leader raised recent figures showing the attainment gap between the most and least deprived pupils rose between 2023 and 2024.
He also referenced Audit Scotland’s report which said additional support for learning (ASL) provision in Scotland must be “fundamentally evaluated”.
Mr Sarwar said: “On Tuesday it was revealed that under the SNP, attainment in Scotland’s schools is declining across the board.
“Shamefully, outcomes for young, working-class Scots are getting worse compared to those from wealthier backgrounds.”
He said Mr Swinney, a former education secretary, had failed to improve outcomes – saying last year almost 24,000 young Scots left school without any Higher qualifications.
Mr Sarwar said: “Let’s not forget it was John Swinney who downgraded the exam results of working-class kids during the pandemic.
“Now, as First Minister, he is overseeing the betrayal of young Scots with the attainment gap widening.”
Mr Swinney said he will always listen to reports from the Auditor General.
He argued progress has been made in closing the attainment gap, saying it has reduced by 60% since 2009/10, while the attainment gap between ASL pupils and other pupils has almost halved since then.
Mr Swinney said: “I accept there is more that needs to be done. But important and substantial progress is being made on closing the attainment gap and that is good for children and young people in our country.”
He said he is “absolutely determined” to improve outcomes for young people, mentioning investment in expanding early learning and policies like the Scottish child payment.
The First Minister said: “Look at what the Labour (UK) Government does – that goes into office promising to reduce fuel bills for individuals in our country, and they go up.
“That’s what Labour deliver, they deliver broken promises to the people of Scotland, and Mr Sarwar will be no different.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay urged the Government to cut the number of public bodies.
The Scottish Government has said 131 public bodies exist in the country, but Mr Findlay claimed the figure was off by around 75 when he clashed with Mr Swinney.
A week after he said a Scottish Tory government at Holyrood would create a US-style Department of Government Efficiency to cut waste, Mr Findlay asked the First Minister if he will bring in an outside business leader to lead such an organisation.
The First Minister said he was regularly criticised during his time as finance secretary – a position he held between 2007 and 2016 and again between 2022 and 2023 – for setting “exacting efficiency standards” on public bodies.
“The result of that is that we released significant value for investment in the public finances,” he said.
