Holyrood debates Highland Council school investment cuts

Highland News & Media

The issue was raised in Holyrood by local MSPs Kate Forbes with education secretary Jenny Gilruth and Jamie Halcro Johnston followed up demanding answers

Transcript

00:00 To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with Highland Council

00:06 to improve the school estate in the Skye, Llabar and Baidonch constituency.

00:10 The £2 billion learning estate investment programme is being delivered in partnership

00:15 with local authorities and will benefit tens of thousands of pupils across Scotland.

00:19 Through phase 2 of the learning estate investment programme, we announced that Highland Council's

00:23 Broadford primary school project, which is in the member's Skye, Llabar and Baidonch

00:26 constituency, would receive Scottish Government-funded support. The school will deliver

00:31 both Gaelic and English—Gaelic-medium, rather—education and English education,

00:35 as well as the community facilities for Broadford. It is being designed to pass a

00:38 vice standard and construction is due to start next summer.

00:41 The cabinet secretary makes it clear that Highland Council is responsible for the school estate.

00:48 It has applied for funding to replace additional support-needs schools St Clement's

00:52 and two other primary schools—Dunvegan primary school and Bewley.

00:56 All of them are in a dire state of disrepair. Will the Scottish Government be able to advise

01:01 the council whether it has been successful or not in relation to LEAP phase 3 funding?

01:11 We have heard other members raise the issue today, and I am keen to update Parliament as

01:15 soon as possible on the matter. As I have outlined, we have written to local authorities to explain

01:20 that consideration for phase 3 projects is still on-going. It is important to recognise that we

01:25 are trying to make important investment decisions against the backdrop of market volatility on

01:30 current projects that need to keep Scottish finances on a sustainable trajectory and the

01:35 additional challenge in relation to RAC in school buildings. However, I recognise the member's

01:40 interest in relation to her constituency. I know that other members across the Parliament have

01:45 similar interests. I seek to provide Parliament with an update as soon as possible, recognising

01:49 the financial challenge at the current time.

01:52 We are now left with the unsuitable and potentially unhealthy buildings,

01:56 which will be made habitable only and not replaced with the new school buildings that

01:59 are so desperately needed. While the make-do and mend approach from SNP Ministers in Edinburgh

02:04 and SNP Highland Council in Dunvaness continues, when can teachers, parents and children in Dunvegan,

02:09 Bewley and other parts of the Highlands expect to see the new schools that they were promised?

02:13 As we have heard from Mr Swinney, when the SNP first came to Government, about 60% of our

02:20 schools were in good or satisfactory condition. Today, that figure is over 91 per cent. That is

02:25 a good record of investment from this Government in our school estate, particularly when the

02:29 responsibility for our school buildings does not rest with this Government but with local

02:33 authorities. I have committed to Parliament today to provide an update on the LEAP 3 projects. I

02:41 hope that the member will welcome that and the significant investment that has come from this

02:44 Government in improving our school estate.

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