The “staggering” cost of vandalism repairs to Scotland’s schools, under the SNP, is exposed today in figures obtained by the Scottish Conservatives.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests from the party reveal that a total of £4,961,189.83 has been spent on repairs to primary, secondary and special schools over the past five years. Of this, more than £1.16million was spent in the last full academic year (2021-22) alone.
And, given that only 22 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities provided figures, the true bill to the taxpayer is likely to be far higher.
The Scottish Conservatives have slammed these figures as “further evidence of the SNP’s inexcusable indifference to the state of Scotland’s schools”.
Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Stephen Kerr MSP, said: “It’s disgraceful that already scarce resources are having to be spent on repairing damage to schools caused by mindless vandals.
“These louts should be ashamed of themselves – but the need for such expensive repairs poses the question as to why the SNP government have not ensured our schools are properly safeguarded and protected in the first place.
“We need effective CCTV systems to act as both a deterrent and a means of identifying and punishing offenders.
“The staggering cost of vandalism is further evidence of the SNP’s inexcusable indifference to the state of Scotland’s schools.
“The new SNP education secretary Jenny Gilruth must get to grips with this issue and ensure that our schools are properly protected. Vandals must know that the full weight of the law is there to deal with this destructive, anti-social behaviour.
“But this problem is just another symptom of the decline in education on the SNP’s watch. Whether it’s Scotland tumbling down international league tables, broken promises to eradicate the attainment gap or increasing violence towards teachers, the Nationalists’ record is shameful.”
NOTES
More than £4million has been spent on vandalism repairs in schools in last five years. Freedom of information requests reveal that at least £4,961,189.83 has been spent on vandalism repairs in primary, secondary and special schools. The real figure is likely to be higher as only 22 councils provided figures, 5 councils withheld and the rest did not reply. (Freedom of Information Requests available on request.)
Over 600,000 pounds spent on vandalism repairs in schools this year. Freedom of information requests reveal that at least £690,288.18 has been spent on vandalism repairs in primary, secondary and special schools in 2022-2023. The real figure is likely to be higher as only 19 councils provided figures, 6 councils did not hold the data and the rest did not reply. (Freedom of Information Requests available on request.)
Over one million pounds was spent on vandalism repairs in schools last year. Freedom of information requests reveal that at least £1,167,683.03 was been spent on vandalism repairs in primary, secondary and special schools in 2021-2022. The real figure is likely to be higher as only 22 councils provided figures, 5 councils did not hold the data and the rest did not reply. (Freedom of Information Requests available on request.)