EDUCATION BUDGETS IN SCOTLAND FACES DOUBLE WHAMMY FROM LABOUR AND TORIES

I raised concerns with the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Education about the need for funding to mitigate the potential dangers of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a lightweight material used in construction from the 50s up to the mid-90s, in schools and other public buildings, such as the PE block in Ardrossan Academy, which has been closed as a precaution.

This building material was used long before devolution and the UK Government must deliver funding to rectify the impact of this.

With Labour’s appalling PFI debt eating into local authority education budgets across Scotland, it is vital that these budgets do not face a double whammy of fixing faults in school buildings as well.

With North Ayrshire having to repay over £400 million to cover the cost of four schools which cost only £83 million to build, and with this cost increasing with every rise in interest rates, North Ayrshire Council won’t even own the schools when the contracts terminate in 2037. How on earth can local councils also be expected to pay for repairs to faulty concrete?

Labour and Tory decisions are cutting deeply into our Council’s education budgets as the Secretary of State’s response about funding for potentially dangerous concrete offering little confidence.