Press Release
9th September 2003
“Who’s
Telling Truth on Minister’s PPP Views?” Demands McNeil
MSP
for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, today vowed to get to the bottom of
conflicting claims which threaten to set Liberal Deputy Education Minister, Euan
Robson, and Liberal Inverclyde Council Leader, Alan Blair, on a collision
course.
In
a letter to Mr McNeil on 18th August, the Minister re-affirms his
commitment to rebuilding the school estate.
And “Public Private Partnerships,” he says, “are a core element in
delivering that improvement.”
But,
in the Greenock Telegraph the same
day, Cllr Blair claims that the Minister “is supportive of our views against
PPP.”
Mr
McNeil has now written to the Minister asking that he clarify the true position. He said:
“Cllr
Blair and Mr Robson can’t both be right and I just want to know who’s
telling the truth.
“We
cannot have Councillors claiming to have the support of Executive Ministers when
no such support exists. Equally, we
cannot have Ministers backing their department’s policy in public and
condemning it in private.
“That
is why I have written to the Minister, asking that he clears this confusion up
as soon as possible.”
Mr
McNeil also revealed that Mr Robson has confirmed that the PPP money is still
sitting waiting to be claimed, should Inverclyde Council want it:
“It’s
great news that the Minister has confirmed that this money is still on the
table,” he said. “But every day
the Council dithers, the cash slips further from their reach.
It’s only a matter of time before other Councils snap it up and plough
it into glittering new schools in places like Paisley and Dumbarton.
“Not
only would it be a tragedy if this money was lost to Inverclyde forever, it
would be grossly unfair. After all,
we pay the same taxes as everyone else in Scotland, so our children should
receive their fair share of any investment.”
ENDS
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