School quango racks up £4m in expenses

The quango in charge of overseeing Scotland’s schools has racked up nearly £4 million in staff expenses over the last three years.

New figures show Education Scotland has spent £1.35 million on hotels for 283 workers since January 2015.

The public body also shelled out £525,000 on hire cars and £791,000 for meals and mileage.

Tory MSP Liz Smith said: “Parents will find this a staggering amount of taxpayers’ money.

“Everyone knows that schools are under very considerable financial pressures. This will strike all taxpayers as a questionable prioritisation.”

The figures show £3,793,652 was claimed between January 2015 and March this year.

Other expense claims over this period included £512,000 on rail travel and £347,000 on planes.

Critics point out the bill would pay 124 teachers their £30,516 salary.

A spokesman for the EIS union said: “It’s essential public funds are spent appropriately in this climate of austerity.”

Education Scotland has faced harsh criticism from teachers in recent years over its handling of the new Curriculum for Excellence, amid claims of excessive guidance and confusion over the exam system.

An ES spokesman said: “Expense claims made by staff adhere to the best practice procedures for public bodies.”