NEW portable classrooms at a Helensburgh primary school have cost council tax payers more than double the original estimate, council bosses have revealed.
But the official cost of the building’s new roof is being kept under wraps.
Pupils at John Logie Baird Primary School are set to use the temporary accommodation during the 2024/25 term while repairs to its roof are carried out.
Argyll and Bute Council confirmed last September that reinforced autoenclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was present in the school building.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request discovered that the portable classrooms, situated on the school’s sports pitches, have come at a cost of £580,000.
That's more than double the estimate of £225,000 reported by council officials earlier this year.
A report to a council committee in December anticipated a total project cost of £3 million, but an FOI request regarding the total cost to the authority was partly turned down.
A council officer told the LDRS: “Disclosure would otherwise prejudice substantially, or be likely to prejudice substantially, the effective conduct of public affairs.
“When this exemption is used to refuse to release information, there is a requirement to consider the public interest test, which is a comparison of whether the public interest in disclosing the information is outweighed by the public interest in applying the exemption.
“In general, I accept that it is in the public interest in terms of openness, transparency and scrutiny, for information relating to how the council spends public money to be in the public domain.
“However, I am of the view that to release details of a cost plan at this stage of the process containing information relating to pricing structure and delivery model would not be in the public interest, as it would give contractors an advantage in terms of any tender they might put in.
“The cost for the RAAC remediation at John Logie Baird Primary School has not yet been finalised due to nature of the investigation, the ‘discover, remove and replace’ nature of the contract and [the fact that] commercial negotiations are still ongoing.
“This is a live tender and contractual process and the release of this information at this stage would be unfavourable.
“This would in turn very likely lead to the council being unable to get the best possible deal in terms of their contracts which would not be an efficient use of public funds and also not in the public interest.”
The officer added: “Notwithstanding this, we can confirm the cost of installing and using portable classrooms on the site of the school football pitches while the roof is repaired.
“The cost of installing and hiring modular accommodation on the site of the school football pitches, while the roof is repaired, is £580,000 on the basis that the works are completed by July 1, 2025.”
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