TWO local SNP politicians were accused today of ‘scoring an own goal’ for criticising the way the huge redevelopment programme of Inverclyde’s schools has been funded.

MSP Stuart McMillan and general election candidate Ronnie Cowan both attacked Inverclyde’s Labour council leader, Stephen McCabe, for bringing education into a Tele story about potholes.

The SNP had complained about potholes, prompting Mr McCabe to say he was committed to making local roads among the best in the country, ‘just as we have some of the best schools and leisure facilities in Scotland’. His remarks triggered a riposte from Mr McMillan, who slammed the method of funding used by the local authority to revamp its education estate.

The MSP said: “If Councillor McCabe wants to talk about schools, then he should maybe talk about how Inverclyde Council has used the discredited PPP/PFI funding to pay for some of the schools.

“These agreements have a capital cost of approximately £78 million but, by the time they are paid off in another 25 years, Inverclyde will have paid back over £321million.” Mr Cowan added: “The whole financial arrangement is farcical, and has left a hole in the finances of the area.” Mr McCabe responded by highlighting the SNP’s role in supporting the school funding plan.

He said: “Stuart McMillan and Ronnie Cowan have scored an own goal by criticising the council for using PPP to fund part of our school estates strategy, since our PPP project was actually signed off by SNP ministers in 2008.

“We were only able to proceed with it because the Scottish Government considered that it represented value for money and committed to providing nearly £6m of grant funding each year towards the annual payments to the PPP consortium.” He added: “I have always been sceptical that PPP represented value for money for UK and Scottish taxpayers, but there can be no doubt that, with the subsidy provided by the Scottish Government, the Inverclyde Schools PPP is value for money for local council taxpayers.

“That is why it was supported by SNP councillors in 2008.

“It should be remembered that only four of our schools — Clydeview Academy, Notre Dame High, Aileymill Primary and All Saints Primary — have been funded by PPP.

“All of our other new and refurbished schools have been funded through the more traditional route of prudential borrowing and use of capital grants.” Mr McCabe said it was ‘perfectly legitimate’ for him to respond to Mr McMillan’s comments on road conditions by pointing to the ‘fantastic’ schools and leisure facilities put in place by the council.

He added: “I will take no lectures from Mr McMillan on using schools as a political football.

“The major reason that there has been under-investment in our roads is because we have chosen to prioritise investment in our schools and leisure facilities.”