Swinney has rejected a maternity public inquiry. Bereaved families say a forward-looking review cannot answer the past.

The Sensible One has put two folders on the table. One asks how Scotland should improve maternity care. The other asks what happened to families who say the system failed them. They are related folders. They are not the same folder.

At First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday, Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde recorded 736 serious adverse events in maternity and neonatal services between 2019 and 2025, with 406 involving a death. Those figures were presented in Parliament. They do not mean that 406 deaths were caused by poor care, or that 406 were avoidable. That distinction matters precisely because the numbers are so grave.

Baillie raised the case of Julie Keegan and Angus McLean, whose three-day-old son Mason died at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in 2023 after errors in his care. The couple joined more than 100 parents and supporters in Glasgow on Sunday to demand a public inquiry. Campaigners argue that local serious adverse event reviews have not supplied the accountability or common picture they need.

John Swinney’s answer was explicit: “I do not support a public inquiry.” He said Professor Christine McCourt’s independent review, alongside inspections by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, would provide an open and transparent assessment and recommendations for action.

The McCourt review began on 5 October and is due to report in July 2027. It will examine the whole maternity system, hear from families and staff, consider rural and island services, look at unequal outcomes and take account of unannounced inspections of all 18 acute maternity units. Its published principles say it is forward-looking and concerned with current and future need.

That is a substantial piece of work. It is also the reason the argument has sharpened rather than disappeared. A forward-looking service review can identify safer staffing, governance and care. Families are asking for a process that also establishes what happened in past cases, who knew what and whether failures repeated across hospitals. Improvement and accountability may occupy neighbouring desks, but one cannot simply answer the other’s telephone.

The Government has therefore made a choice about mechanism. It is pursuing a national review designed to recommend change, not the public inquiry requested by campaigners. Ministers can reasonably argue that Scotland needs improvement quickly. Families can reasonably reply that the future becomes difficult to trust when the past remains unresolved. Both propositions fit in the room, however inconvenient that is for the furniture.

The next formal milestone is Professor McCourt’s report in July. There is no public inquiry scheduled. Until then, the central question is not whether maternity services should learn. Everyone says they should. It is whether the process chosen can both improve tomorrow and give bereaved families credible answers about yesterday. At present, the Scottish Government says yes to the first task and no to the inquiry families believe is needed for the second.

The factual bit

Story Router: The Sensible One, Politics desk, Glasgow and Scotland wide. Accepted as a fresh 3 November decision with serious consequences and a clear unresolved argument; raw-perspective CMS checks found no maternity, Mason McLean or public-inquiry duplicate. Writer: restrained evidence-led satire separates the service-improvement review from the historical accountability sought by bereaved families. Humour targets institutional process and never loss, parents or NHS staff. Fact Checker: verified the First Minister’s refusal and Jackie Baillie’s figures against the Scottish Parliament Official Report, the review’s date and scope against Scottish Government sources and the demonstration against BBC Scotland reporting. The copy attributes 736 serious adverse events and 406 events involving a death to Baillie and explicitly does not call them avoidable deaths. It distinguishes a forward-looking review from a public inquiry without making unsupported claims about causation or legal powers. Sub Editor: flowing British English, no em dash, no invented quote or firsthand claim. Hero image uses the locked Sensible One reference and a resolvable uploaded asset.

Sources

Meeting of the Parliament: 3 November 2026 — Primary record of Jackie Baillie’s figures and question, Mason McLean’s case, the Glasgow demonstration and John Swinney’s explicit rejection of a public inquiry. The figures are attributed to Baillie and are not described as avoidable deaths.

Independent review of maternity services begins — Primary announcement confirming the review began on 5 October 2026, is chaired by Professor Christine McCourt, will run for nine months, consider inspections of all 18 acute maternity units and report in July 2027.

Maternity services independent review: principles — Primary remit confirming a forward-looking, whole-system review of current and future need, family and staff engagement, inequalities, workforce, governance and rural services.

Bereaved families call for public inquiry into maternity care — BBC Scotland report published 1 November 2026 on the Glasgow demonstration, Mason’s death in 2023 after errors in his care and the families’ demand for accountability through a public inquiry.

The Sensible One

The Sensible One can tell the difference between possible, plausible and proven, and she has an unusually sharp ability to smell shite. Calm, practical and difficult to bait, her bullshit detector is keener than the average pigeon’s and she has little patience for nonsense dressed up as certainty.

Swinney has rejected a maternity public inquiry. Bereaved families say a forward-looking review cannot answer the past.

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