SNP council candidate for Saltcoats, Roberta Bianchini, has welcomed ‘ambitious’ plans by the Scottish Government to close the attainment gap in Scotland’s schools over the next decade.

In a strategy outlined by Education Secretary, John Swinney MSP, North Ayrshire schools are set to benefit from a £4,392,000 funding boost as part of an SNP Government drive to improve standards in schools. Locally, over £1,530,000 million will be allocated to schools in the Three Towns - delivered through the Pupil Equity Fund.

The new fund aims to close the stark gap in educational results between those from the least well off and the most affluent backgrounds. With cash handed directly to head teachers, the SNP argue that local circumstances and priorities can be addressed by those on the frontline of North Ayrshire schooling.

Miss Bianchini made clear that local SNP candidates share the First Minister’s view that educational attainment should be a priority issue, and pointed to the previous SNP council’s track record in upgrading school facilities to provide North Ayrshire’s teachers and pupils with state-of-the-art learning environments.

Miss Bianchini bemoaned the fact that, this year, North Ayrshire Council will have to cough up £12.7 million to meet the cost of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts signed by the former Labour council. The figures – provided by the independent Scottish Parliament Information Centre – show that councils across Scotland will pay a total of £427 million this year to meet contracts signed over a decade ago.

In North Ayrshire, the previous Labour council built four schools – with the projects valued at £81 million in total. Yet between 2007 and 2037, figures show that £401 million will have to be paid to the companies who built them.

Miss Bianchini said: “SNP candidates in North Ayrshire and across the country are determined to make sure our children benefit from a world class education. Our plans to invest in education and put faith in our teachers will make a substantial difference.

“However, it infuriates me that we cannot do more due to the toxic PFI legacy left behind by the previous Labour council – a debt we will still be paying for decades to come.

“Labour’s reckless handling of our public finances once again demonstrates that the SNP is the only party that can be trusted to deliver on educational investment.”