The Arbroath Schools Review: council determination to proceed with this project at all costs

One would have hoped that any responsible and competent council would never have embarked on this scheme – on the grounds of unaffordable cost, negative educational impact and the personal safety of such young children.

One would expect any council prepared to go ahead with such a scheme on the grounds of a fraudulent set of public surveys in which it had itself, to some degree, been shown to be complicit to lie very low for a long time in fear of the knock on the door.

One would imagine that any irresponsible council, caught out by FOI in persisting with a pet scheme against this weight of serious documented evidence to the contrary, would at least have the commonsense to beat a retreat under some face saving cover.

So has Councillor Myles rethought the whole concept and brought forward alternative proposals?

Not a bit of it. This is not how things work in Angus.

The comparison with Argyll and Bute is awfully apt and again damages trust in Scotland’s local governance.

Councillor Myles and his colleagues have now voted through the new build and as of last week, the matter lies with Education Secretary, Michael Russell, to make the final decision as to whether it is allowed to proceed.

Multiple call in requests  – we understand that these are in the late 60s in number – have been made by the local community and Mr Russell has 3 weeks to make the decision as to whether to call in Angus Council’s decision.

Since financial matters cannot legally be a part of any decision at any level in regard to schools closures and mergers, the severe financial consequences of this project, should it proceed, must be a matter for the wider Angus electorate.

With local authority elections next year, it would clearly be irresponsible for the current council and its leader to commit a future council – and Angus – to a contract for the planned new school. Any such contract would carry financial penalties for cancellation – so whatever happened, Angus would lose money its frontline service delivery can ill afford.

One of the parents responsible for obtaining much of the FOI information has found himself being refused several of his requests on cost grounds.

It is understood he was approached in a local hostelry by a Councillor only two nights ago (15^th July 2011) saying that his FOI requests had been expensive (£8000) and that Angus Council would challenge any call in decision.

Given the positions taken by the Roads and Finance Departments it is considered highly likely that many within Angus Council, never mind parents, would heave a huge sigh of relief if the call in was successfu

It is difficult to see how this saga is not covered by the terms of the Schools (Consultation) Act 2010.

If, indeed, it is not, then it can only add to the flaws in the provision of the act.

NOTE: Read the detail for yourself

The lead story, of which this is an investigation detail, is: Miles more on Myles: Angus Council, FOI and Arbroath Schools Review.

Choose which other parts of this investigation you wish to read in detail and in what order. Most are short – but for obvious reasons the piece on the FOI revelations on the two ‘public surveys” is more extensive.

• The Arbroath School Estate Review
• The scandal of the public opinion surveys
• Costs and funding of the proposed new school
• The educational benefit of a primary ‘superschool‘ of 500 pupils
• Cheaper and more cost effective alternatives
• Traffic risk to small children on the Westway town bypass
• Council determination to proceed with this project at all costs
• The political situation at Angus Council