Moray Council are set to receive an additional £10million in Scottish Government funding for investment in the region’s school estate.
The figure was revealed at a meeting of the Council’s policy and resources committee on Tuesday after questions were tabled by Elgin City South councillor Graham Leadbitter.
Mark Palmer, the local authority’s director for corporate services, confirmed that Moray would be receiving the cash as the regions share of a £100million of Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) investment in school infrastructure through the Schools for Future (SSF) programme.
The aim of the additional investment is to assist in the removal of schools out of the ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ condition to a ‘satisfactory’ or ‘good’ condition as quickly as possible. This is expected to be achieved through refurbishment or replacement in line with guidelines set out by the joint Scottish Government/COSLA school estate strategy.
Scotland’s finance minister John Swinney has said that the additional funding is being targeted to support existing and approved SFF revenue funding projects such as the new Elgin High School project.
Councillor Mike Shand, who is the SNP opposition spokesperson at Moray Council, said: “This is an extra £10million shot in the arm for Moray’s schools.
“It is great to get this level of additional support from the Scottish Government who are making clear the value of our schools and education.
“This is, of course, over and above money that will be committed to the Elgin High School project and over and above other capital funding from the Scottish Government. I look forward to seeing the detailed proposals of how this money will be spent in Moray.”