Fire-raising at schools hits nearly two a day, say Conservatives

Published on Thursday 21 May 2009 22:22

ALMOST two arson attacks a day have taken place at Scottish schools, new figures have revealed.

There were more fire-raising incidents at schools in Scotland in 2007 and 2008 than in the whole of England, according to statistics obtained by the Conservatives.

There were 1,252 cases in Scotland compared with 1,249 in England.

The numbers were revealed through freedom of information requests to all of the police forces in the UK showed. This averaged 1.7 arson attacks on schools a day in Scotland.

However, the Scottish Government has raised doubts about the figures.

A spokesman pointed out that seven police forces in England – South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Kent, Suffolk, Nottinghamshire and Avon and Somerset – were not included.

In addition he said that some of the Scottish statistics included false and hoax alarms, fires near to schools, and in some cases, fires at universities and colleges.

An aide to education secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "The Tories are fiddling the figures to provide misleading results – which is a disgraceful attack on Scotland's young people.

"They are not comparing like with like. We are serious about tackling discipline in schools, but for the Tories to exaggerate the problem is simply irresponsible."

However, the Conservative Party said the numbers revealed a serious problem in Scotland. The Conservative's education spokeswoman, Liz Smith, said: "These figures are appalling. Scotland has nearly two arson attacks, or incidences of 'fire-raising', in schools each day of the year.

"School discipline is a major issue for all parents as well as for everyone in the teaching profession.

"These shocking statistics must be a wake-up call to Fiona Hyslop and the SNP Scottish Government."