The closure of Pitlochry High School will worsen the recruitment crisis affecting Highland Perthshire, senior SNP politicians have argued.
SNP leaders including Perthshire North MSP and Deputy First Minister John Swinney, MP Pete Wishart and local councillor Mike Williamson invited leading employers and local businesses to a summit at Pitlochry Dam on Friday night to discuss the effect of staff shortages on the local economy.
Recruitment problems in Highland Perthshire are hindering growth in tourism, agriculture, food and drink as well as creating problems in the public sector, the meeting heard.
Mr Swinney said the proposal to close Pitlochry High School – one of five options currently being considered in a public consultation – would worsen matters further.
“I was very happy to meet with local business owners and stakeholders in the Pitlochry area,” he said.
“Rural recruitment is a challenge that is affecting every line of work in the area, and it is therefore right that as a community we come together to try and solve some of these wider problems,” he said.
“Our meeting was positive and productive, and I am hopeful that we can continue co-operating for the benefit of Pitlochry as a whole.
“What is absolutely clear, is that Pitlochry cannot afford any further service cuts. The loss of RBS was a body blow to the town, but any attempt to close Pitlochry High School will be rightly seen as an attack on the local community and have a chilling effect on young families moving to the area.”
Attendees at the meeting included SSE, NFU Scotland and Pitlochry Festival Theatre, as well as tourism businesses, distilleries and local hotels.
Bosses argued for a range of practical measures to solve staff shortages, including transport schemes and ways of reducing the cost of accommodation.
MP Pete Wishart said: “Given the challenges that our rural communities will face as Brexit bites, I am calling on Perth and Kinross Council to take the option of closure for Pitlochry High School off the table for the benefit of the local area.”
Perth and Kinross Council leader Murray Lyle said he had not been invited to the meeting, which was organised by the SNP.
He said: “I share these concerns about immigration and recruitment. I am aware of the issues as a local farmer and as someone who has employed overseas workers. There are particular issues in rural communities, especially to the east and north of Perth.”
Mr Lyle said he was taking action on recruitment, attending a series of meetings with Ochil and South Perthshire MP Luke Graham and senior Westminster colleagues, including rural affairs secretary Michael Gove in February this year and work and pensions secretary Esther McVey in August.
“I am very much aware of these issues because they are close to my heart as well,” he said.
Highland Perthshire councillor John Duff, Conservative, said: “It was Mr Swinney’s SNP colleagues that commissioned this review of schools throughout Perth and Kinross and it was the SNP which set out the list of options for consideration including the need to consider whether closure of a school is the best course of action.
“I have been campaigning for a positive outcome for Pitlochry High School and for the community and I firmly believe that there is a great future ahead for this excellent school.”
