Tonight's "Evening Telegraph" covered my concerns about the Scottish Government's delays over the school building programme. I reproduce below two news releases this week from the Scottish Liberal Democrats on this subject:
SCOTT ATTACKS DELAYS TO SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME
SCOTT ATTACKS DELAYS TO SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott attacked Alex Salmond over massive delays to the school building programme at this week’s FMQs. After two years of delay, the First Minister was still unable to say which schools are in line to receive funding for vital upgrades.
“The Government has wasted two years failing to get the Scottish Futures Trust to work – two years of blind alleys, garden paths and dead ends.
“The announcement yesterday could have been made two years ago. Instead we had paralysis from the SNP.
“After two years of delay the First Minister should have been able to answer the basic questions about which schools are in the programme.
“In eight weeks time, 180 children will start their first day at secondary school at Inverurie Academy . But the First Minister, their MSP, was unable to say whether any of those children will have a new school built for them in Inverurie before they sit their Highers.”
LIB DEMS EXPOSE MIND-BOGGLING DELAYS TO SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME
Commenting after the Education Secretary was forced to admit following questioning by Liberal Democrat MSPs that the SNP will delay the school buildings programme for almost a decade, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Margaret Smith MSP said:
“We have dragged the Education Secretary’s cat out of the bag. The SNP is forcing most councils to delay building new schools for up to a decade.
“The money starts to dribble down to councils next year and the final payments won’t arrive until 2018.
“The SNP is rushing to get some token bricks built by polling day. There would have been less of a rush if there had not been the two year Hyslop-gap and paralysis in planning.
“Most of the pupils studying in crumbling buildings will have left school and could have children of their own before these new schools are built. Thanks to the SNP’s mind-boggling delay, an entire generation of schoolchildren have been let down.”