Hard-up council cuts off schools’ heat... but keeps own HQ at 25C!
Off icials bask in warmth as drenched kids are left to shiver
PUPILS have been left shivering after a council in the coldest part of the country demanded schools turn off the heating for the next three months.
In an unprecedented cost-cutting exercise, Highland Council issued a draconian decree that heating in all of its buildings – including primary and secondary schools – must be turned off until September.
The ban meant that primary pupils who were drenched by a torrential storm early last week had no chance to warm up and sat in a classroom in a temperature of only 9C.
Meanwhile, the council bosses were enjoying a far cosier climate. Using an air-temperature thermometer, an undercover reporter from The Scottish Mail on Sunday discovered that, on Thursday, although it was 16C outside, officials inside the Highland Council headquarters were basking in a temperature of 25C.
Politicians attacked the council’s actions. Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, Donald Cameron, said: ‘It seems ludicrous that while the heating has been turned off in our schools, it should still be pumping out around the council offices.
‘While everyone understands the need to save costs, it should be the same for everyone. I’m sure many people would expect the council to turn off their own heating if they think it appropriate to do so elsewhere.’
One member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘I can’t believe it. This is the furthest the council have ever gone to save money in my memory as a teacher. One little girl was ill last week and
‘Children’s fingers too cold to write’
I couldn’t even turn on the heating to keep her warm. I wasn’t going to let her get worse, so I brought in my electric heater from home.’
An undercover reporter walked into the reception area of Highland Council headquarters in Inverness and recorded a temperature of 25C.
By contrast, one teacher recorded a classroom temperature at 9C. The teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘Children were complaining they were cold – which never really happens. They are the youngest class in the school, and they said their fingers were cold while they were trying to write.
‘So I checked the thermometer and it was just 9C. Children need to be warm and comfortable to learn. The fact that council workers are sitting cosy in their offices while pupils are sitting in the cold is just disgraceful. It is hypocrisy at its worst.’
There are 201 schools in the Highland area – 172 primary schools and 29 secondaries.
Last night, Karen Wilkinson, director of the Parents Union, said: ‘This is clearly ridiculous. It sounds like it’s a fine idea because it’s summer, but if a thermometer is reading nine degrees, something is not right.’
A spokesman for Highland Council said: ‘We are not suggesting we reduce [school] heating below the legal minimum, however we often heat our buildings by several degrees warmer than this.
‘By reviewing our practices, we could save thousands of pounds and, in the light of the budget savings required, we cannot afford to ignore this potential saving.’