Tory MSP accuses Scottish Government of secrecy over education system reports

Oliver Mundell said the Government had withheld draft versions of reports by the OECD and by Professor Ken Muir.

Oliver Mundell spoke ahead of a committee meeting at Holyrood (Fraser Bremner/Scottish Daily Mail/PA) (PA Archive)

The Scottish Government has been accused of “secrecy” after refusing to publish early drafts of an education report.

Ministers commissioned the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to investigate Curriculum for Excellence, with a report published last summer that resulted in the scrapping of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

However, The Times reported that the Scottish Government refused to publish early drafts of the report, citing possible damage to “international relations” as its reasoning.

Tory MSP, Oliver Mundell, said during a meeting of the Education, Children and Young People Committee on Thursday, he feared the same was being done with a report by Professor Ken Muir on the future of a new organisation responsible for the curriculum and assessments.

Too much of our education policy is decided behind closed doors, not least because of the culture of secrecy and the lack of transparency at the heart of the SNP's approach

Oliver Mundell

“I suspect I’m not the only committee member who has been concerned by reports that the Scottish Government are still, over a year later, withholding a draft version of the OECD report it received last January and their subsequent response to it,” he said.

“Furthermore, I’ve also heard a parliamentary statement is planned on the Ken Muir report and it has been reported that senior leadership at the SQA and other education bodies have already seen advanced drafts.

“I’m not aware of this courtesy having been extended to this committee in what looks like a repeat of the same situation as with the OECD, where unaccountable organisations who are currently failing our young people are extended an opportunity to review and potentially influence the findings of these reports without any checks and balances.”

Mr Mundell said it was “insulting” that the reports had not been given to the committee, adding: “I know we are to cover our work programme in private today, but I am increasingly concerned that too much of our education policy is decided behind closed doors, not least because of the culture of secrecy and the lack of transparency at the heart of the SNP’s approach.”

Mr Mundell requested that the committee’s consideration of future work, which was to take place in private during the meeting on Wednesday, be done in public – a request that convener and fellow Tory MSP, Stephen Kerr, rejected.

The Tory MSP was attacked for “grandstanding” by fellow committee member Bob Doris, an SNP MSP.

“I’m disappointed to get a set piece statement from Mr Mundell which I would consider grandstanding,” he said.

“There’s been lots of opportunities to raise these concerns within committee before now – including this morning (in private).

“No member afforded themselves that opportunity at that time.”

He added: “I’m keen to work collegiately as a committee to decide how best to respond to Mr Mundell’s comments but the idea of ambushing a committee at the start of a meeting when there are lots of other opportunities to put this to fellow committee members and work collegiately, I think is very disappointing, I find the tone unhelpful, I find it overtly party politicised and it’s not the way I want this committee to work.”

Lib Dem MSP, Willie Rennie, said there had been “deep frustration that the Government haven’t been as open as they should be over the OECD process”, adding that he would like to see a public evidence session on the report, while Labour MSP Michael Marra said he agreed the draft should be in the public domain “as soon as possible”.

Scottish Green MSP, Ross Greer, told the committee that, if the SQA had tried to limit the damage in the OECD report, “they obviously didn’t do a very good job of it”, because the decision was taken to scrap the body.