Highland Council has denied blocking an MSP’s fact-finding visit to a "dilapidated" primary school on Skye, amid a "school estate emergency".
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston was on his way to a "planned", "quick", "fact-finding" visit at Dunvegan Primary School on March 15 to see its "deteriorating" facilities for himself, and had got as far as Portree when the invitation was suddenly withdrawn.
"I am extremely disappointed - and frustrated - with the decision to cancel this visit," he said.
"That decision is baffling. I have no idea why Highland Council would feel they needed to block a visit by an MSP, and do so at the last minute.
"It is well known there are serious concerns from parents and staff over the condition of some of the facilities at Dunvegan.
"I have raised concerns about the state of the school in Parliament and have been contacted by concerned individuals who want to see much needed improvements."
Highland Council runs one of Scotland’s largest school estates, with 196 primary and secondary schools, but also the country’s worst, with 67 buildings (roughly 30 per cent) rated “poor” by the Scottish Government.
A motion to declare a "school estate emergency", urging the First Minister Humza Yousaf for more cash, was defeated by the SNP-Ind administration in January.
A year ago, the then-cabinet secretary for education and skills admitted 12,000 pupils in the region were taught in "poor" conditions.
"Across the five local authorities that make up the bulk of the Highlands and Islands, a total of 11,989 pupils are in schools that are not of a good or satisfactory suitability," said the SNP MSP for Dunfermline, Shirley-Anne Somerville.
One such school is Dunvegan Primary in north west Skye, where the buildings have been described as "dilapidated, neglected, damp and mouldy" and "literally falling apart", by the Dunvegan School Parent Council and Dunvegan Community Trust.
In Holyrood, Kate Forbes, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, also said it was in "a dire state of disrepair".
The council had incorporated a long-awaited new building, plus 16 affordable homes and a sports pitch, into its capital programme, but in September 2023 it ditched the masterplan, alongside nine other school building projects, to cut £127 million from its budget.
In Holyrood, Mr Halcro Johnston said "squeezed local council budgets" had resulted in a “make-do-and-mend approach", where "money is spent keeping buildings habitable and usable", and planned new facilities like Dunvegan are put "on the back burner".
"We are now left with unsuitable and potentially unhealthy buildings," he said. "Teachers, parents and pupils are left wondering when the new schools they were promised will actually be delivered."
October then dealt a "devastating" blow to the council, when ministers rejected all of its school funding bids to the Learning Estate Improvement Plan (LEIP) phase 3, including one for a new Dunvegan Primary, due to "the current economic climate and fiscal position".
Mr Halcro Johnston wrote to Highland Council for an "urgent explanation" as to why his visit was cancelled "at the very last minute" and sought reassurances a future visit would be allowed.
A council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, the school was unable to accommodate a very late notification of the intention to visit by MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston.
"We are happy to accommodate a future visit where there is time to organise and the school is available."
Mr Halcro Johnston said: “I am disappointed The Highland Council are maintaining their claim that no visit was arranged. There was - it was arranged directly with the school with nine days’ notice.
“My office first contacted Dunvegan Primary as far back as January 8 about a visit, and the March 15 date was agreed directly with the school on March 6.
“My concern is that the decision to cancel the visit was not taken in Dunvegan at all, but in Highland Council HQ in Inverness."
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