LABOUR PFI SCHOOL SHAME AS NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL COUNTS COST

£425 MILLION TO BE PAID OUT THIS YEAR ACROSS SCOTLAND – ROBBING MONEY FROM VITAL SERVICES

Labour’s disastrous PFI schools scheme continues to cost North Ayrshire 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 £426.8 million in this financial year – with North Ayrshire Council facing a 12.7 million estimated unitary charge for 2017/18, demonstrating Labour’s short-term thinking and profligate use of public money.

SNP MSP for Cunninghame South, Ruth Maguire, has slammed Labour’s toxic legacy, which continues to rob our local authorities 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, Ruth said:

“The toxic legacy that Labour’s PFI deals have left our schools and councils 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 North Ayrshire Council facing a bill of 12.7 million estimated unitary charge for 2017/18.

Labour’s spendthrift and reckless handling of our public finances continues to rob North Ayrshire 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, North Ayrshire Council, and local authorities across the country.”