Council reaches settlement with company behind defective Edinburgh school buildings

Edinburgh Council has come to a financial settlement with the company behind the capital's school buildings scandal.

A series of defects were discovered at 17 different schools across the city in 2016, forcing pupils into temporary classrooms.

The Edinburgh Schools Partnership has agreed to cover all the closure-related costs incurred by the local authority, as well as repairs.

We don't know the exact bill, but it is likely to run into several million pounds.

The agreement also includes a provision to keep schools open late for things like sport activities.

Council leader Adam McVey said: “This has been a lengthy and complex process but I’m pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with ESP.

"This settlement provides significant benefits to our schools and local communities and crucially means the works carried out on the PPP1 schools came at no cost to the Council.

"There will now be additional inspections on the PPP1 buildings and increased opening hours for those facilities. Reaching this agreement also means we can avoid potential lengthy and costly legal proceedings for both parties and return to our focus of providing world-class facilities for our young people.”

Depute leader Cllr Cammy Day said: “It’s welcome news that ESP have taken responsibility, allowing us to agree a way forward.

"The overriding priority has always been the safety of the pupils and staff and significant progress has been made on implementing the many recommendations in Professor Cole’s report.

"We are proposing to re-invest money from the settlement in our Council estate to ensure our buildings are fit for purpose – that is in addition to the £118.9m approved in this year’s budget for repair and maintenance work on Council buildings over the next five years.”

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Schools Partnership said “This is a significant and positive development for all of the schools impacted by the closures in 2016.

"As the Council report shows we have made strenuous efforts to reach an agreement that reflects our commitment to work in partnership with the Council and avoids the need for difficult and expensive legal action.

“In particular, the contractual enhancements to the existing monitoring framework provide the basis for ESP and our suppliers to continue the process of restoring confidence to pupils, parents and staff. We would like to reiterate our apologies to all those affected by the closures and say again that the safety of the children and staff throughout the PPP1 school estate remains our primary concern."

Councillors will make a final decision on the settlement at a meeting next week.