During First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) the SNP leader was spotted holding her head in her hands as Richard Leonard called for action to combat child poverty in Scotland. The Scottish Labour Party leader added that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic means action needs to be urgent to help struggling families.
Mr Leonard said: “The Scottish deficit is around nine percent of GDP, the UK is less than three percent of GDP so there is a comparison to make that anybody reasonable and rational would want to make.
“Let me talk about something else that the First Minister spoke about, powering ahead.
“Let’s power ahead on the question of child poverty because today both the children’s commissioner and the chairman of the poverty and inequality commission have united to call on the First Minister to bring forward an equivalent of the Scottish child payment.
“The Scottish Government have said that COVID makes this difficult but COVID is what makes it urgent.
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“If it is possible to rapidly introduce payments for businesses in need, surely it is possible to rapidly introduce payments to families and children in need.”
Scotland’s First Minister also received a scathing grilling from former Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson regarding coronavirus related deaths in Scottish care homes.
Ms Davidson quizzed Scotland’s First Minister regarding when she became aware that patients that had tested positive for COVID-19 were transferred into care homes from hospitals.
The former Scottish Conservative leader added that Nicola Sturgeon was ducking the question having failed to provide a satisfactory answer despite being asked about the issue on four separate occasions.
Ms Davidson said: “That is the fourth time that question has been asked at FMQs, twice by me last week, once by Richard Leonard, once by me again today.
“That is the fourth time the First Minister has ducked the answer, what I can’t work out is why.
“The First Minister keeps saying this Government will be open about its mistakes and putting people with COVID into care homes was clearly a mistake, part of fixing mistakes is working out who knew what and when.”
Scotland’s First Minister responded: “Ruth Davidson has asked the question and I am answering the question, I do not know the clinical conditions of people being discharged from hospital to their own homes, to other community setting or to care homes.
“That would not be information that ministers would have.”
