The Scottish Government is still prioritising cost over quality when selecting private companies for major infrastructure projects, The Courier can reveal.
Fife Council has ordered its contractors to carry out inspections at all of its schools after 17 built through controversial PFI deals, introduced by Labour and the Liberal Democrats at Holyrood, were closed in Edinburgh because of safety fears.
Now it can be revealed that ministers continue to rank value for money above building excellence with the SNP’s replacement for the scheme, NPD.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The evaluation criteria for NPD building projects was set at 60% price and 40% quality.
“The quality threshold is set high through the use of detailed specifications and reference design information set out in each Authority’s requirements.”
That is the same ratio used under PFI, although it is understood some local authorities lobbied to set their own rates which ranked quality and price on at least an equal footing.
Scottish Government officials asked all councils across Scotland to conduct “any necessary checks” following the shock closures in the capital.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chaired an emergency meeting of the government’s resilience committee on Saturday after Edinburgh City Council announced it would close the schools from Monday.
The closures were prompted over fears all schools built under the same private finance contracts could pose a safety risk.
PFI was used to build Queen Anne High School, move Inzievar and Holy Name primaries on to the shared Oakley campus and construct new Duloch and Masterton primaries in Fife.
The same contractor as that used in Edinburgh was involved in the Kingdom’s new builds.
Shelagh McLean, head of education and children’s services at the authority said: “Following the most recent information to emerge from Edinburgh on Friday afternoon, Fife Council has contacted our PPP contractors again to carry out further inspections in Fife.
“Thorough inspections undertaken during the holiday period had raised no structural issues with our buildings. All schools in Fife will open as expected on Monday morning.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokeswoman said the authority regularly inspects and reviews all properties it is responsible for.
She added: “None of the schools within Perth and Kinross were built by the contractors who build the schools in Edinburgh, however, for reassurance, we will conduct inspections of our schools where required in line with the request from the Scottish Government.”
The Courier understands PFI schools in Angus and Dundee also used different contractors to the Edinburgh and Fife equivalents. Neither council responded to requests for comment last night.
Education secretary Angela Constance said: “It is too early to assess any wider implications for schools in other parts of Scotland.”