Local MSP Jackie Baillie has called on SNP politicians to apologise for spreading misinformation on the reasons behind the latest delay to hit the new £25 million Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School.

The new build school will not open until January 2017 at the earliest following the discovery of an error in the way the Scottish Government presents its accounts.

SNP list MSP Stuart McMillan initially appeared to blame West Dunbartonshire Council officials for the mistake until it was revealed that OLSP is just one of several new build schools across Scotland to be hit by delays following an EU ruling.

Commenting on the delay, local MSP Jackie Baillie said:

“Stuart McMillan has been left with egg on his face after blasting West Dunbartonshire Council for a delay which has been caused by the incompetence of his own SNP colleagues in Edinburgh who could not even get their figures right. Instead of writing to the Council to complain, he should perhaps have written to John Swinney, the SNP Finance Minister. Now, he should do the decent thing and apologise to council officials who are doing everything they can to advance the project but have been held back by technical issues outwith their control. The reality is that this delay is the direct result of the Scottish Government’s failure to comply with the rules laid down by the EU for capital spending projects.

“To borrow a phrase from the Deputy First Minister, the new-build OLSP is ‘shovel-ready’ and all we need now is the funding promised by the Scottish Government. West Dunbartonshire Council stands ready to get on with the construction but parents and pupils in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, and other communities across Scotland, have been let down by the SNP’s mismanagement.

“The new £25 million OLSP is a significant investment in Bellsmyre and when the school finally opens its state-of-the-art facilities will be enjoyed by future generations of local children. The SNP Government in Edinburgh owes it to families in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven to sort out this mess as soon as possible