Call for police probe into schools deal
Arran High School in Lamlash could inadvertently be dragged back into the ongoing and controversial saga of North Ayrshire Council’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) project after a motion to call in police to investigate was passed by the full council.
Procurement
SNP councillor Tony Gurney and Independent Ronnie McNicol have asked councillors to instruct the current chief executive, Elma Murray, to invite Police Scotland to carry out a new investigation into all aspects of the North Ayrshire PPP procurement process, which was signed in 2006 by the then council chief executive, Ian Snodgrass.
The contract, with a value at the time of £80m to build and maintain four local schools, of which Arran High School is one, is now costing North Ayrshire Council more than £1m every month and will eventually cost local taxpayers over £400m.
The move follows revelations in a documentary, The
Only Game In Town, which contains interviews with two former senior detectives, in which it is claimed an original police investigation, carried out at the time, lasted just two weeks and failed to even interview the complainants.
Ardrossan and Arran Councillor Gurney, who moved the motion at the council meeting, said: ‘The Only Game In Town raises some very serious questions that require answers.
‘I believe those answers will only be forthcoming if a new, full and thorough police investigation is carried out into all aspects of the procurement process that led to the council signing up to a contract now costing taxpayers more than £1m every month.’
‘I hope all councillors will recognise that local people are angry about what The
Only Game In Town has revealed.
‘People want action on this matter and are looking to their councillors to provide that action.
Ensuring
‘By instructing the chief executive to call in Police Scotland, and by ensuring everything is done at council level to cooperate fully with a new police investigation, then hopefully we will finally get to the bottom of what actually happened in the North Ayrshire Schools PPP project.’