Scottish council leaders told they 'need training' in how to make decisions after £60m school blunder

A Scottish local authority has been told to ensure its political leaders are properly trained in scrutiny and decision-making after a blunder led to the construction of a primary school that was far too small.

The Accounts Commission watchdog made the recommendation as it highlighted the “crucial” need to avoid any repeat of the failures in the process for constructing Dargavel Primary School.

The new village of Dargavel, in Renfrewshire, evolved into one of the largest housing developments in Scotland, with BAE Systems initially granted planning permission for the development of of 2,500 houses in 2009, eventually rising to 4,322 units.

As part of planning agreements, a new school was built by BAE systems which opened in January 2022, but only had an expected capacity of 430 pupils. The council soon identified an actual need for a core primary school capacity of 1,130 pupils, as well as extra secondary school spaces.

The local authority apologised to “devastated” parents, with the cost of resolving the mistake estimated at £60m.

In its latest report on the debacle, the Accounts Commission specifically highlighted the political leadership at the council.

It said: “The commission welcomes the council’s development of a leadership programme for officers. However, it is vital that this programme is extended to include the political leadership of the council.

“Elected members have a key leadership role and must be supported to fulfil their scrutiny and decision-making responsibilities effectively.”

In the time that the Dargavel development has been discussed, the council’s ruling administration has switched from Labour before 2007 to SNP, from 2007 to 2012, then back to Labour from 2012 to 2017, and then the SNP again from 2017 to now.

The Accounts Commission also said it welcomed an increase in community engagement by the council since January.

Meanwhile, the local authority was also told it must set out clearly and transparently the financial implications associated with resolving the issue through a proposed new primary school and secondary school extension.

Andrew Burns, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Whilst it’s clear action is being taken to address the cultures and behaviours that resulted in the failures of school provision, now the council must demonstrate sustained change and improvement in the longer-term.

“Councillors have a critical leadership role. To help ensure they fulfil their scrutiny and decision-making responsibilities, councillors must have access to, and take up, appropriate training and development. This is vital to ensure historic failures of leadership and governance at the council are not repeated.”

A council spokesperson said: “We note the comments made by the Accounts Commission in their report. Their published findings – and those of the auditors – recognise and welcome our ongoing commitment to engaging the local community and that the council’s approach to its recent consultation and community engagement activity around the future of school provision in the Dargavel area has been comprehensive.

“They also note the work we have done to strengthen leadership and decision-making culture among senior officers. We will continue to build on all of this in the months and years ahead.”

The spokesperson added: “We already have an extensive programme of training in place to support elected members to carry out their duties and will consider if there are any opportunities for this to be further strengthened.”