LABOUR PFI SCHOOL SHAME AS FIFE COUNCIL COUNTS COST
Published date : 06 Apr 2017
£425 MILLION TO BE PAID OUT THIS YEAR ACROSS SCOTLAND – ROBBING MONEY FROM VITAL SERVICES
Labour’s disastrous PFI schools scheme continues to cost Fife Council millions of pounds every year, analysis by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre has revealed – proving they are a party which cannot be trusted to manage vital public services.
The duff deals made by Labour during their time in power at Holyrood will cost local authorities across Scotland £426.8 million in this financial year – with Fife Council facing a £15.7 million bill, demonstrating Labour’s short-term thinking and profligate use of public money.
MSP for Mid Fife & Glenrothes Jenny Gilruth has slammed Labour’s toxic legacy, which continues to rob our local authority of vital funding for education and other public services. The total nationwide cost of the toxic PFI legacy across all projects topped £1 billion in 2015/16, with this figure continuing to rise.
Commenting, Jenny Gilruth MSP said:
“The toxic legacy that Labour’s PFI deals have left our schools and Fife council continues to cost millions of pounds every year – and proves once again that only the SNP can be trusted to deliver on education and local funding.
“While Labour carp from the sidelines about the SNP’s record, it is increasingly clear that we are still paying for the mess that Labour left over a decade ago – with payments in 2017/18 to be as high as £426.8 million across all our council areas, and Fife Council facing a bill of £15.7 million.
“Labour’s spendthrift and reckless handling of our public finances continues to rob Fife Council of funds which could be put towards delivering better local services. And let’s not forget the potential consequences of Labour’s dodgy deals on jerry-built schools across Edinburgh – forced to close for nearly 500 days because of fundamental safety concerns.
“It’s high time that Labour apologised for this toxic legacy that they’ve left for our schools, Fife Council and local authorities across the country.”
Notes:
Operational PFI/NPD schools projects
Schools developed under PPP1 and PPP2
Source: HM Treasury Current projects as at March 1st 2016
http://bit.ly/GovUK_PFI_PF2_data
EDUCATION, COMMUNITY
