Sturgeon’s care statistics ‘incomplete’

NICOLA Sturgeon has been rebuked for her use of statistics for a second time since the beginning of the pandemic.

The First Minister was criticised for suggesting that around 40 per cent of care homes were allowing visits from family members.

Ed Humpherson, the directorgeneral for regulation at the Office for National Statistics, said that the figures were a ‘very loose approximation based on incomplete data’.

He previously criticised Miss Sturgeon’s claim that prevalence of coronavirus was higher in England than in Scotland.

Miss Sturgeon had used the care home visiting figure at First Minister’s Questions after being challenged by Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie about a constituent who couldn’t be visited by family.

In a letter to the Scottish Government’s chief statistician Roger Halliday, Mr Humpherson also said that some health boards representing a ‘significant proportion’ of Scotland’s care homes had not provided the Scottish Government with figures.

Mr Rennie said: ‘I asked the First Minister about care home visiting because I was hearing time and again from constituents that government promises to enable safe access were falling flat.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said last night: ‘At all times the Scottish Government aims to be transparent in its approach and ensure parliament and the public is kept informed of the latest developments.’