Council bid to ease fears over the safety of school buildings
North Lanarkshire Council have moved quickly to quash any concerns about the building standards of local schools.
Councillor Tom Johnston, the SNP Group’s education spokesman wrote to the council’s chief executive Paul Jukes, to seek assurances following the publication of the Cole Report.
The Cole Report was produced following a wall collapse at an Edinburgh school in January last year.
Seventeen schools in the capital were closed temporarily as a result whilst safety checks and building standards were investigated.
The Cole Report warns that sub-standard construction could be present in schools and other public buildings throughout Scottish local authorities — citing examples in South Lanarkshire.
Councillor Johnston asked if the council refused requests by the inquiry to view structural reports and if the local authority feel the need to inspect buildings following the report.
He added: “I was concerned to hear a TV news report that some councils refused to give copies of their school structural reports to the Cole Inquiry.
“I wish to know if the council are among that number.
“I also want to know what actions the council proposes to take following the Cole report.
“Some schools elsewhere in Scotland had basic flaws, such as a lack of wall ties to hold buildings together.”
A council spokesman said: “The safety of public buildings and the people who use them is our highest priority.
“As soon as the Edinburgh incident happened we immediately put in place procedures to review our entire school estate ( both PPP and non PPP buildings).
“We p rov i d e d all information we were requested to the Cole Inquiry and are currently reviewing the findings of the report.”