The Scottish Labour Party’s leader stated that Mr Swinney had failed the people of Scotland following the exam fiasco which saw grades students were awarded by the SQA downgraded. Mr Swinney survived the subsequent vote of no confidence against him by 67 votes against 58.
Mr Leonard said: “The responsibility of individual ministers for their own conduct and that of their departments lies at the very heart democratic parliamentary government.
“We do not accept under clause 1.6 of the ministerial code that the cabinet secretary for education conducted himself in line with that code.
“He has failed, failed in justifying his actions with respect to the SQA results fiasco to this Parliament and to the Scottish people.
“As a result, Mr Swinney no longer commands the confidence of this chamber.
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“At the end of last week, we reviewed the SQA results fiasco following thousands of calls, emails and messages from increasingly anxious and angry young people, from their parents and from their teachers.
“Having reviewed it we decided that we had no choice but to table this motion of no confidence.”
Yesterday the former Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson clashed with Nicola Sturgeon regarding the exam fiasco.
Ms Davidson said: “The idea that we’re at the 12th of August over a week after results were issued and people still aren’t clear what’s happening with university places, is ridiculous. One way to build trust back is to be more transparent.
“When the last SQA fiasco happened in 2000, Nicola Sturgeon was in opposition and she insisted that the then Education Secretary and I quote ‘give the Parliament a categoric reassurance that he will make available all papers and correspondence and notes and meetings and phone calls within his department and between his department and the SQA since the start of this year’.
“The same thing needs to happen now. We know that this Government doesn’t have the best record in making documents available but will she today give that guarantee and will she start by confirming that the Education Secretary did indeed formally back the SQA deeply flawed model?”
Ms Sturgeon replied: “On the issue of university places, in any year the process of university admission goes on for a period of time.
“This year, we’re going to ensure that more places are available for young people and I think that is a good thing.
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“That’s a positive thing that should be welcomed across the country.
“In terms of the responsibility of the SQA and the Government, we’ll make whatever Parliament wants available to Parliament.
“But I really don’ think, perhaps the Opposition understandably given the experience with Governments elsewhere, are really struggling to grasp a key element of this.
“The Government is not trying to pass responsibility to the SQA. The Government is taking responsibility itself.”
