Humza Yousaf has said SNP-run Renfrewshire Council will need to “reflect very hard on how it will rebuild trust with parents” after building a school that was too small.
The First Minister was speaking after an Accounts Commission report warned that “the community and council will be dealing with the consequences of this error for some time".
In 2022, The Herald revealed that the £18m school building should have been able to accommodate 1,100 pupils, but due to an “error” by officials, could only hold 430.
The authority announced in February last year that they now expect 1,500 children to need to use the school by 2033.
READ MORE: Renfrewshire Council branded incompetent over £75m Dargavel School
A damning initial report described Renfrew as “incompetent” and said the error was “so obvious it is difficult to see how it remained undetected for six years".
The council is now set to build a second primary school in the village, and contribute £15m towards an extension at Park Mains High School in Erskine.
Local Labour MSP Neil Bibby raised the latest report from the Accounts Commission during First Minister’s Questions.
He said the “debacle” is now estimated to cost Renfrewshire’s children and taxpayers up to £170 million.
“The commission has stated that the council faces a challenge to rebuild trust and confidence. It has also stated that the community will be dealing with the consequences of that error for some time.
“Given that, how can the First Minister have confidence in Renfrewshire Council, when so many local parents do not?”
Mr Bibby pointed out that the cash-strapped council’s bid for £10 million from the Scottish Government’s learning estate investment programme to pay for a new primary school in Johnstone had been rejected.
“What support will the Government provide to Renfrewshire’s children to stop them paying the price of their council’s incompetence?” he asked.
Mr Yousaf told MSPs that the council “will have to reflect very hard on how it will rebuild trust with parents in that regard".
He added: “The Scottish Government has a good record of investing in new schools and refurbishments across local authorities, including in Renfrewshire.
“Through the budget for 2024-25, which was announced by the Deputy First Minister, the Scottish Government will be giving a significant uplift to local government.
“We will continue to engage with local government and Renfrewshire Council on the issue, but it is the responsibility of Renfrewshire Council to ensure that it rebuilds trust with the parents and families affected.”
READ MORE: Dargavel school scandal: land deal agreed for new primary
Dargavel Primary is part of the privately funded Dargavel Village project, a multimillion-pound development that will see nearly 4,000 new homes built on the site of a former Royal Ordnance Factory by 2034.
As part of the agreement with the council, BAE Systems paid for the new school.
However, they built it to the specifications supplied to them by the council. That means their obligations under what is known as the Section 75 Agreement are now discharged.
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