Harris Academy : vital there is clarity over funding for upgrade

I have today said that, given media reports today about schools to be included in the Scottish Government’s capital improvements, it is vital that there is immediate clarity from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning over government plans – and assurance that Harris Academy will be included in the funding.

I have made this call following media reports that Scottish Government was including in the capital improvements programme Ellon Academy, in the First Minister’s Gordon constituency, Mearns Academy (also in Aberdeenshire), Lasswade Academy in Midlothian, Eastwood Academy in East Renfrewshire and another in Ayrshire. (See : http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/SNP–unveils-school-rebuilding.5682003.jp).

Harris Academy has an overwhelming case for capital funding from government and it is very important, given the “drip feed” of news over the weekend about schools that Scottish Government intends to fund improvements at, that the Education Cabinet Secretary swiftly clarifies the position regarding all schools to be included.

The whole process of decision making and announcements regarding funding via the Scottish Futures Trust lacks transparency. With the former PPP arrangements, local authorities could decide their priorities for investment in an open and democratic manner at council committee. The SFT arrangements are clouded in secrecy and it is very concerning that part of the announcement is “drip fed” through the media.

Earlier this summer, in responding to my correspondence to government calling for the refurbishment of Harris Academy, Fiona Hyslop gave me an assurance that an announcement would be made about secondary schools during September. As September draws to a close, it is vital that Fiona Hyslop clarifies the full list of schools to be included.

Class sizes pledge – SNP failure

In 2007, the SNP won thousands of votes on a promise – an explicitly clear promise – to cut all primary school P1, P2 and P3 classes to a maximum of 18 pupils.

There has been no real progress on this in the past two and a half years. Why? Because the SNP government, having promised it, has failed to fund it and failed to deliver its promise.

Today’s ‘Guardian’ :

“Party abandons promise on class sizes
Scottish Nationalists accused of misleading parents as they abandon pledge to reduce primary class sizes to 18”

What are they now pledging to deliver? A maximum 25 (TWENTY FIVE!) pupils and the commitment covers P1 only. Pathetic. Utterly pathetic and complete failure of policy delivery.

As with so many of its promises – dumping student debt, £2000 to every first time home-buyer, matching the previous Labour and Liberal Democrat school building programme “brick for brick” – the SNP in government has proved to be an abject failure.

Harris Academy : Scottish Government must recognise case for upgrade

I have today called for Scottish Government to indicate as soon as possible its decision on possible inclusion of Harris Academy in its intended secondary schools improvements programme through the Scottish Futures Trust.

 

My previous update on feedback I received from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning can be viewed by going to http://tinyurl.com/harrisupgrade and today’s news release is below :

West End Councillor hopes for prompt decision on Harris Funding Bid

 

Dundee Liberal Democrat Councillor for the West End, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, today said he hoped that any decision from Scottish Government on the possible inclusion of Harris Academy in the tranche of announcements on secondary school capital improvements through the Scottish Futures Trust would take place in the very near future.

Cllr Macpherson said that in July he had received written confirmation from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, that the first tranche of announcements – relative to secondary school improvements – would take place in September and he was extremely anxious that Scottish Government sticks to its timetable and makes the announcement as a matter of urgency.

Ms Hyslop, in a letter responding to a request by Councillor Macpherson for clarification as to the criteria Scottish Government intends using in prioritising further capital funding, said,

“Decisions will be taken on the basis of the best data information and intelligence available about the scale, nature and distribution of needs across Scotland. This includes the school estate Core Facts data, already submitted by authorities three times since 2004; a similar succession of school estate management plans; and information from bilateral discussions with, visits to, and representations from authorities, all of which have helped build up a national picture of where the scale and urgency of the need for replacement schools are greatest.”

Cllr Macpherson said, “I have no doubt that the data about school condition will serve to show Scottish Government that there is an undeniable case for including Harris Academy in the first tranche of Scottish Futures Trust secondary school projects. Harris Academy is crying out for buildings improvement and the fact that the City Council has already carried out a feasibility study gives a clear way forward as to how refurbishment can be achieved.”

Cllr Macpherson added that it was vital that, should Harris Academy be included in the first tranche of Scottish Futures Trust secondary schools funding, the City Council revisited its own capital programme as the Council would be required to make a contribution, estimated at around £5 million, towards costs.

Cllr Macpherson concluded, “I think its is vital that Harris gets priority in the Scottish Government’s forthcoming announcement relative to secondary school improvements and I hope that Scottish Government recognises Harris’s case.”

Improving attendance in Dundee´s schools

Yesterday, the City Council launched an initiative to further improve attendance in Dundee´s schools.

You can read more about this from the “Evening Telegraph”, including my own comments welcoming the initiative – by going to http://tinyurl.com/dundeeschool.

The new initiative has to be reviewed after a period of time to ensure it is actually achieving what it set out to do, but I do welcome the Education Department´s proactivity in ensuring that attendance at the city´s schools is maximised.

Tuesday activities

 

Following the vandalism on Magdalen Green overnight Sunday/Monday, in which heritage-style lamp posts were vandalised, I was in touch yesterday with Tayside Police regarding increased patrolling and with the City Council’s Leisure & Communities regarding repairs. An article appeared in today’s “Courier” – see http://tinyurl.com/courier080909 – but it was infuriating to see further vandalism last night (see above right, with thanks to Liz Broumley of Friends of Magdalen Green). There’s a clear need for further police attention overnight on the Green, something I have raised with our local Inspector. 

This morning, I attended an informative briefing for councillors by Tayside Police and the Council’s Social Work Department on the Tayside Pilot Offender Disclosure Scheme, soon to be launched.

Thereafter, along with other members of the Kingspark Project Board, I had the pleasure of going on a site visit around the new Kingspark School building project in Clepington Road. As you can see from the photos, there’s a fair bit of work to be done yet but the project is taking great shape and is currently ahead of target for completion next year. The new school will be a superb resource for the city’s children with learning difficulties and will give 21st century facilities to add to the existing excellent reputation of Kingspark School.

This evening, I attended the first meeting of West End Community Council’s new session and had the pleasure of chairing the AGM part of the meeting. If you go to http://tinyurl.com/weccupdate, you can read my update to the Community Council for September.

Investment for school building improvements

 

As reported in this morning’s “Courier”, I have written to the Depute Director of Scottish Government’s Schools Division regarding how Scottish Government is to allocate funding for schools capital projects, following the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 17th June of a new schools investment programme.

Harris Academy has been recognised by the City Council as being in considerable need of improvement and must be a key priority for the city. It would be helpful to learn how Scottish Government will obtain current detail of priorities as perceived by individual local authorities in assisting government in making decisions as to the first tranche of the new schools investment programme.

Given the delays in Scottish Government moving forward its PPP replacement over the past couple of years, I was anxious to find out, following the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement last month, as to how the funding is to be allocated as it is vital that Dundee obtains a good share of any new capital monies so that the schools improvements programme established by the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat administration on the City Council can continue with more schools improvements and renewals. Given that the Education Secretary has said that the bulk of new funding will pay for the construction costs of secondary schools, I am anxious to see Harris Academy benefiting. It is important that there are no further delays.

The Scottish Futures Trust has advised me that:“The identification of schools to be included in the new schools investment programme is being undertaken by the Scottish Government (SG). The first tranche of schools is due to be announced in September this year. SFT is in close contact with SG and will take the lead in marshalling the order of projects within the first tranche, once the schools are identified.

“The Scottish Government hold considerable data on the condition and suitability of schools, information provided to them by individual Authorities over a number of years, and our understanding is that this will inform the prioritisation of investment.”

Given that the identification of the schools to get capital funding is going to rest with Scottish Government, unlike PPP schemes where individual local authorities made decisions as to which projects to take forward given their local knowledge about the state of their school estate, I have asked Scottish Government for reassurances that local authorities will have genuine input into the selection process so that we in Dundee can make the case for investment in our city’s schools.

It is important that the government does not make the mistake of simply determining this spending nationally. Local councils must have input into this process to provide the local dimension on any decisions made about new funding.

SNP failure on schools building programme

Tonight’s “Evening Telegraph” covered my concerns about the Scottish Government’s delays over the school building programme.   I reproduce below two news releases this week from the Scottish Liberal Democrats on this subject:

 

SCOTT ATTACKS DELAYS TO SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott attacked Alex Salmond over massive delays to the school building programme at this week’s FMQs. After two years of delay, the First Minister was still unable to say which schools are in line to receive funding for vital upgrades.

 “The Government has wasted two years failing to get the Scottish Futures Trust to work – two years of blind alleys, garden paths and dead ends.

 “The announcement yesterday could have been made two years ago. Instead we had paralysis from the SNP.

 “After two years of delay the First Minister should have been able to answer the basic questions about which schools are in the programme.

 “In eight weeks time, 180 children will start their first day at secondary school at Inverurie Academy .  But the First Minister, their MSP, was unable to say whether any of those children will have a new school built for them in Inverurie before they sit their Highers.”

 LIB DEMS EXPOSE MIND-BOGGLING DELAYS TO SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME

 
Commenting after the Education Secretary was forced to admit following questioning by Liberal Democrat MSPs that the SNP will delay the school buildings programme for almost a decade, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Margaret Smith MSP said:

 “We have dragged the Education Secretary’s cat out of the bag.  The SNP is forcing most councils to delay building new schools for up to a decade.

 “The money starts to dribble down to councils next year and the final payments won’t arrive until 2018.

 “The SNP is rushing to get some token bricks built by polling day.  There would have been less of a rush if there had not been the two year Hyslop-gap and paralysis in planning.

“Most of the pupils studying in crumbling buildings will have left school and could have children of their own before these new schools are built.  Thanks to the SNP’s mind-boggling delay, an entire generation of schoolchildren have been let down.”

New schools – real or a myth?

At the Glenrothes by-election, the First Minister made himself look foolish over his “Yes we can” sloganising – the voters there decisively decided “no they can’t.”     Another example of SNP “Yes we can” claims turning out to be little more than hot air has been the nationalists’ promise of replacing PPP capital funding for schools building projects.   The SNP government has wasted the last two years in inactivity as new school building projects across Scotland have slowed – as LibDem Education Spokesperson in the Scottish Parliament, Margaret Smith MSP, called it “the two-year Hyslop gap and paralysis in planning.”

Yesterday, the SNP government announced that it was planning 55 new schools, but what was abundantly clear from Tavish Scott’s questioning of Alex Salmond at First Minister’s Questions today is that the detail is sketchy to say the least. Just as Alex Salmond can provide no reassurances for his own constituents about funding a new school for Inverurie, there is no detail as to if and by how much Dundee will benefit from such additional funding and the speed with which funding will be delivered. Schools like Harris Academy desparately need this funding to provide facilities fit for 21st century teaching.

I reproduce below a news release I issued today following my contacting senior finance staff in the City Council about the issue :

NEWS RELEASE : Councillor raises questions over Scottish Futures Trust

Following yesterday’s announcement by Scottish Government over schools funding, Dundee City Council LibDem Group Leader, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, has written to the City Council’s top finance officers seeking clarification as to if and how quickly Dundee can benefit from any further capital funding to undertake further improvements to Dundee’s schools estate.

Writing to the Council’s Depute Chief Executive (Finance) and Head of Finance, Cllr Macpherson asks, “Is there any indication of the method by which Scottish Government will choose the schools to be included, a bidding process and criteria and if level playing field or similar support is to be offered?”

Cllr Macpherson said there was significant concern that it had taken the SNP government two years to get this far with the Scottish Futures Trust which has thus far funded nothing, and he was very critical of the delays that had held up capital building projects. He said, “It is now vital that we finally get some clarity as to the detailed working arrangements for the Scottish Futures Trust, the extent to which Dundee will benefit from further capital investment and which schools can be improved and how quickly.

“There has been far too much delay and we need to see clarity and action from government as soon as possible,” he concluded.

SNP failure over schools capital funding

In yesterday’s ‘Courier’, having been challenged about the failure of the SNP to deliver an alternative to PPP capital funding that would allow for further schools improvements in Dundee, the SNP Education Convener, Cllr Liz Fordyce, made the extraordinary claim that the new primary schools building brought forward by the previous Labour/Liberal Democrat council administration after 2007 was possible because of “flexibility” in council capital budgets permitted by the SNP government.

 

Unfortunately for the SNP administration, this claim has absolutely no basis in fact.

Because of the failure of Alex Salmond’s government to bring forward a viable alternative to PPP funding, schools building new-starts have greatly slowed across Scotland since 2007 as the only avenue currently open to local authorities is the prudential funding model (plus capital receipts if available). The prudential funding model, the replacement for the former Section 94 capital borrowing consents, was brought in by the previous Labour and Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive and has the square root of nothing to do with the SNP.

Pressure is building upon the SNP administration to explain when the alternative to PPP funding is going to become available. Cllr Fordyce, within days of becoming Education Convener said she would be meeting the schools minister to press Dundee’s case for more funding.

The council leader thereafter conceded that there would be a further cross-party meeting of council group leaders with Ministers on the issue. Since then, we have seen total silence on the issue from the SNP. Perhaps Mrs Fordyce would like to explain the success or otherwise of her meeting with Ministers and give us an indication as to when the cross-party meeting with Ministers will take place?

This is too important an issue for Dundee for the SNP to be dragging their heels. If we are to continue the schools improvements programme in Dundee and build more high quality schools fit for 21st century teaching (like Claypotts Castle Primary School – right), the SNP government and the administration in Dundee has to get the act together – the so-called “Scottish Futures Trust” has to become real. The SNP has thus far replaced PPP with nothing and this is holding up making further improvements to the school estate in Dundee.

Education provision in Dundee

As reported in yesterday’s ‘Courier’, I have welcomed the agreement by the Dundee City Council leader that he will invite all parties to participate in talks with Scottish Government Ministers over education funding in the city.

The financial challenges facing our education service, particularly in relation to attempting to deliver costly government policies is of concern to all parties on the City Council and it makes sense that all parties are invited to participate in talks with the schools minister, Keith Brown. I would hope that the Education Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop would also take the time to listen to Dundee’s case.

 

It is a bit baffling, however, that he is suggesting that there be an initial meeting with Ministers involving only SNP councillors. Apparently, a further meeting will then be sought with Ministers at which all parties on the City Council will be invited to participate. Given the pressure on Ministers’ diaries it begs the question as to how speedily all this can be achieved and I question if its really the best and most efficient way to get across the city’s case for increased education resources.

And resources are the nub of the matter – it is very important that the SNP government clarifies what and how much additional funding was going to be forthcoming to allow the council to achieve class sizes reductions.

I have no doubt that on all political sides, we would agree that class size reductions in P1-3 would be a welcome step, but, thus far, the SNP Government, having announced the policy, has totally failed to fund it.    Policies cannot be implemented without the resources to deliver them and so I will be interested to hear – and hear soon – how much additional funding the government will earmark for Dundee.

Furthermore, given the news that John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, has decided to re-examine the government’s priorities for local government service improvements such as SNP manifesto promises on reduced class sizes and free school meals (see http://www.holyrood.com/content/view/3831/10051/ to view more), I will be seeking assurances that the government is not going to ditch its promises in education but is going to start funding them properly.

Shameful schools

Today’s Scotland on Sunday highlights the declining state of Scotland’s school estate and the failure of the SNP government to provide its promised alternative to PPP funding to allow the schools rebuilding programme to be kick-started across Scotland. See http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/latestnews/-Scandal-of-Scotland39s-crumbling.4934417.jp.

The editorial states that the SNP Government stands culpable of a breach of promise over schools capital funding, stating:
 
At the May 2007 election, the SNP manifesto pledged to match existing school building programmes “brick by brick”. Just two months ago, Finance Secretary John Swinney reiterated: “Spending on our youngsters is key to our collective future, and of course the education they receive is central to this… we intend to give the highest priority to capital spending on new and improved school buildings, helping to create a 21st-century environment in which Scottish children can learn.”
 
Unfortunately, it seems that Swinney and his colleagues are letting political dogma get in the way of making real this aspiration. Another SNP manifesto pledge was to end the PFI/PPP deals which the last, Labour/Lib Dem, administration used to embark on ambitious, if costly in the long-term, school building projects. This is one pledge the SNP has kept, but without breathing life into the promised Scottish Futures Trust as an alternative funding mechanism. As a result, school building has ground to a halt in many parts of Scotland, with councils unsure how to continue and headteachers despairing at the prospects for their pupils.
 
Scotland on Sunday is launching a Save our Schools campaign and it is to be hoped that the SNP government finally gets the act together with its Scottish Futures Trust. I suspect that if and when it finally surfaces, it’ll be a slightly altered version of what came before, making the inertia of the last two years all the more pointless.

Here in Dundee, the City Council administration has been proactive with new schools being proposed in the West End, Lochee/Charleston and Whitfield, to supplement the initial rebuilding programme. The latest proposals are being funded using conventional prudential borrowing but the extent to which prudential borrowing can be used is limited. If the Scottish Government can provide a PPP or alternative model together with level playing field support, much more can be done in Dundee.

It is about time the SNP Scottish Government got its act together.

Focus on Achievement Awards 2008

Last night, along with other City Councillors, teaching and other education department staff, pupils, parents and other guests, I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Focus on Achievement Awards at the Caird Hall.

It was a superb night, highlighting the great work being done in our schools across the city, and the successes of Dundee pupils. Schools and pupils from across the city won awards in various categories, including Harris Academy.

I have today written to the Director of Education and to the Head of Primary Education, congratulating them and the Education Department – the Focus on Achievement Awards are an excellent initiative and it was also good to see businesses and other organisations across the City sponsoring awards too.

Class Sizes

I was pleased to see that, during the past week, in a debate in the Scottish Parliament on cuts to the education budget, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Jeremy Purvis MSP demanded urgent clarification from the Scottish Government about how much extra money is necessary for the SNP to achieve its class size targets.

This is an issue I have raised locally here in Dundee on a number of occasions, as there is concern locally at the lack of funding from the SNP government for their own policy.

Jeremy said, “The SNP provided no additional resources to deliver what, before the election, it described as the flagship education policy. Teachers, parents and pupils deserve a statement from the Scottish Government to clear up the confusion surrounding the cost of cutting class sizes and exactly how the SNP will pay for it.

“Last week, the EIS voted unanimously to support a strategy to oppose funding cuts, which included ballots for industrial action. Meanwhile, teachers have been raising significant concerns about the future of education and a Liberal Democrat investigation found that councils across the country are struggling to implement strategies to achieve the SNP’s class size target.

“The SNP is all over the place on its class size targets. SNP Ministers are sounding more and more desperate as they try to defend the indefensible.”

I’m pleased that the Liberal Democrats in the parliament condemned the Scottish Government’s complacency over the impact of its cut to the education budget. LibDem MSPs warned during the budget process that this was the worst settlement for education in Scotland since 1999.

The SNP must stop passing the buck to local authorities and start to take some responsibility for its own commitments. It must ensure that sufficient funding is in place not only to meet their own policy pledges but also to prevent job losses in our schools.

You can read Jeremy Purvis’s speech by clicking on the headline above.

Education Capital Expenditure

The Courier today ran an article about the issue of education capital expenditure and the issue of the SNP’s P1-3 class sizes “commitment” – I paste below my full response on the issue :

LibDem council group leader Cllr Fraser Macpherson said,

“The major problem with the SNP’s so-called commitment to the class sizes policy is that it has been totally underfunded and the capital allocation the Scottish government has been made thus far wouldn’t make any substantive difference at all to meeting their commitment. To get to the 18 class size position in P1-3 in all schools would require not just a far greater capital allocation, it would also require very significant increases in revenue funding for teaching and other staff, something the SNP government has completely failed to fund. Nicol Stephen is right to highlight this significant failing of the SNP government.

“The City Council Education Committee back in August agreed to make capital expenditure allocations to projects vital to address important improvements needed to our schools, including St Luke’s and St Matthew’s Primary School. Before any SNP councillor criticises this, I don’t remember any of them saying that St Luke’s and St Matthew’s Primary School shouldn’t get this much needed improvement.

“It is very clear from the Concordat the Scottish Government has concluded with COSLA that, although there is an aspiration to move towards lower class sizes, the SNP Government is not coming up with anything remotely sufficient in terms of funding to achieve this. Therefore Dundee City Council will rightly spend funding on what are the greatest priorities to deliver quality education in the City and I applaud this approach.”