News

PFI in spotlight after schools closure hits Edinburgh pupils

Edinburgh’s school closure scandal, which has affected 7,600 pupils, is set to cause further long-term disruption to families and teachers, as well as raising serious questions about the cost and quality of private finance initiative (PFI) contracts.

Scotland’s capital has announced alternative arrangements for all primary, secondary and special school pupils at the 17 schools that have been partly or fully closed since the start of the summer term on April 11 owing to structural faults.

However, some buildings may remain out of action for several weeks, causing major upheaval in the run-up to exams. Parents of children at one secondary have threatened to boycott their temporary school eight miles across the city because of journey times.

The 10 primaries, five high schools and two special schools were all built or refurbished under the PPP1 (Public Private Partnership) scheme during the previous Labour/LibDem coalition at Holyrood. The SNP replaced it with the Scottish Futures Trust when it took over in 2007.

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