Education funding will not be redirected to fix the schools fiasco at Dargavel, Humza Yousaf has warned.
The First Minister was quizzed on how the Scottish Government would support Renfrewshire Council after it was revealed the new-build Dargavel Primary School has only one third of the spaces needed for local children.
But he warned every penny of education cash has already been allocated.
The Paisley Daily Express revealed last week how a second primary school, with capacity for 800 children, and a massive extension to Park Mains High School are needed to accommodate the families set to occupy Dargavel Village’s planned 4,000 homes.
Council bosses revealed the scale of the challenge after admitting a “catastrophic error” with projected school rolls meant a school opened last year had space for only 500 youngsters.
The cost to fix it is £75 million – cash that could have been recouped from developers had the council’s project pupil numbers been correct.
Speaking at Holyrood, West Scotland MSP Neil Bibby demanded answers from the First Minister on how his government would ensure that the cost to resolve the capacity crisis would not be at a loss to other youngsters in the local authority area.
But Mr Yousaf made clear a parcel of cash would not be forthcoming.
He said: “What Neil Bibby is asking me to do is take money out of the current school building programme and of course redistribute that to another project.
“Now, he would have to say what school we would take that away from because, of course, every single penny is accounted for in terms of the current budget.
“So, yes, we will continue to have discussions with Renfrewshire Council, as we have done already, but I will ask the education secretary to re-touch base with Renfrewshire Council because ultimately I agree with Neil Bibby’s premise that no child should feel that their education or their educational attainment suffers as a result of any decision that’s made, be that by national government or indeed by local government.”
Mr Bibby, together with parents of Dargavel children, has repeatedly raised concerns that Renfrewshire Council would need to restrict other essential services in order to raise the cash needed for new builds.
Speaking after the Holyrood debate, Mr Bibby said: “I am pleased that the First Minister agrees with me that no child in Renfrewshire should lose out because of the council’s incompetence.
“This fiasco is set to cost at least £75 million.
“The council must now approach the Scottish Government and develop a plan with them to fix this mess as a matter of urgency and ensure Renfrewshire taxpayers are not left to foot this huge bill alone.”
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