On Wednesday, a report in the Scotsman alleged that parents were unable to secure places promised to them by the Scottish Executive in one of its flagship policies. It singled out the Dunbar area of East Lothian and said legal action could be imminent.

But Helen Law, education spokeswoman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, said the story was untrue. Some parents simply did not take up places or did not receive their first choice.

A East Lothian spokeswoman said the authority had had no contact from any unhappy parent in Dunbar. Some nurseries were oversubscribed but children were accommodated elsewhere.