09/02/2017 Reporting Scotland

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Here on BBC One, it's time

An independent report into safety failures that forced the closure

of 17 Edinburgh schools has blamed the council and

the partnership which managed the building contracts.

It began with the collapse of a wall at Oxgangs Primary School

in January last year, which the report says

Today's report found there had been a lack of proper scrutiny

of the construction work and warned that the problems may

This is where the children sheltered on a windy day at playtime.

This is where nine tonnes of rubble fell,

hundreds of bricks peeling from the wall and crashing to the ground.

Luckily it happened just before the school gates open.

The fact they can build a school that holds

500 children and not check it out and not have anybody independently

check it out, it is a complete and utter farce.

I got a phone call to say your son's not here, he's not at

Somebody needs to be held culpable for this.

That could have been a kid, in fact it could have

This sparked an urgent inspection of schools built

There are 17 of them and all found to be faulty and all were shut down

The main findings are that the 17 schools

There was a lack of supervision that would

And the problems were not bound to the

use of public, private partnerships to finance the projects.

The problem was with wall ties, metal fixings

that strengthened the inner and outer walls.

The BBC Scotland investigation revealed the problem

These pictures show faulty fixings in East

The fact there were different contractors and

subcontractors and the same faults turned up at other schools in

Scotland, where we found five wall collapse in the last four years.

It says this is something which isn't

It is going to be down to a number of agencies

across the UK and the construction agency itself to look at whether the

quality assurance of those buildings is good enough.

The closures caused massive disruption across the city,

more than 8,000 children affected and their families.

The report praises the Council for their response to

getting pupils to class and says learning did not suffer.

But for one family, they still lack confidence

I still don't stand next to the wall now.

I know they have fixed it and I have seen them

physically drill holes into every bit, but it does put you off

It is a lot quieter in that part of the trade ground.

The Scottish Government says it is writing to all local

authorities across Scotland, highlighting the report's

Four more councils have agreed to put up the basic rate

The average bill will rise by ?300 or ?400 a month,

while around a quarter of people will face more significant rises

because of national changes to the way their council

Edinburgh Council today became the first big

But as our local Government correspondent Jamie McIvor reports,

councils are still under huge financial pressure.

Council budget day is a day of tradition.

For years, councils have faced tough spending decisions,

Councils across Scotland can put up the basic rate of council tax by 3%.

But it won't mean the end of cuts and savings.

Many councils are proposing new headline grabbing cuts

Protesters say one big issue is about what some call

In Edinburgh, 1,400 members of staff have gone this year.

It increases the workload of other people.

People can't provide the service they want to provide.

They cannot get out to meet the people.

Typically, the council tax makes up only 15p of every pound

Some council leaders want new powers to find other ways to

raise cash, their dependence on the Scottish Parliament.

I would raise tax tomorrow if I had the power to do so.

I would place a parking levy tomorrow, but I don't have

Edinburgh Council is one of five councils to have agreed to put

Aberdeenshire opted for a smaller rise.

Typically, an average bill will go up by ?3 and ?4 a month,

but around a quarter face bigger rises.

The bills in band E, F, G and H are rising

This man's annual bill will come to almost ?1,600.

I have spoken to my neighbours and most of

us have said we are prepared to pay a bit more if it will be held

locally and local decisions are made on how to spend the money.

Others face even bigger rises and some will

All councils should reach decisions in the council tax within the next

The sister of a man who didn't return from a kayaking trip,

has paid tribute to search teams after a body was found

35-year-old Dominic Jackson was reported missing on Sunday

after a weekend trip on the Moray Firth.

A body has now been found in the Lybster area.

It has still to be formally identified.

Ellie Jackson said her family was thankful to have an outcome

even though it wasn't the one they were praying for.

The First Minister has faced claims that her Government has let down

The Holyrood row followed analysis from a think tank

which suggests that bright pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds

in Scotland lag well behind their more affluent classmates.

The First Minister insisted action was already well under way

Here's our political editor Brian Taylor.

If these warnings about Scotland's schools sound familiar, they are.

The Sutton Trust the data from an international survey and matched

They found bright children from poor households

are more than two and a half years behind their wealthier

In England, the gap in attainment link

to wealth is even greater, but this report highlights a distinctive

Unlike in England, Scotland's brightest pupils score

below the average for developed countries.

The trust found no area in which the brightest 15-year-olds

in Scotland really excel and they noticed a pronounced and sustained

A decade, of course, of the SNP in power at Holyrood.

It is a generation of Scottish people that are being left

behind in the race for qualifications and future jobs.

Scotland used to lead the world in education.

While under this SNP government, are we always playing catch-up?

Time and time again I have come here and argued the SNP are

This report shows they are holding the brightest children back.

A sombre Education Secretary by her side,

the First Minister noted the basic figures were

But, no excuses, action was needed and was already in progress.

We have embarked upon a programme of reforms in education are underpinned

by substantial additional funding, going straight into the hands of

Our headteachers across this country, last week got

told of the substantial additional funding that they will have at their

direct disposal, to invest in additional teachers or the things

they think will help raise attainment.

The First Minister said again, education was her top

priority and, like a political exam candidate, she was ready to be

Twenty six schoolchildren were taken to hospital this morning

after the bus they were travelling in overturned and crashed down

It happened as the bus arrived at Our Lady's High School

Although there were no serious injuries a major incident

was declared with ambulance, police and fire appliances

The scene outside the school in Cumbernauld this morning.

At 8:45am a single deck of bus plunge down this ditch.

One pupil, who got out, said the driver helped his

I literally saw the bus come down the hill and

the wheel hit the curb and I don't know if it

exploded, but there was fire coming out of it.

I just saw it literally flip right over.

A major incident was declared with 20

ambulances going to the scene as well as three fire appliances.

The bus was on its side and the escape

hatches on the roof had been popped out and we lead the kids out through

My friends and colleagues who saw it happening,

they, it was a difficult scene for those.

Most pupils were taken into the school hall to recover.

One 16-year-old girl is being treated for nonserious

injuries and the rest are under investigation.

In North Lanarkshire we take the safety of

Parents on a daily basis give their most

valuable possessions, their children.

It is important we investigate this matter fully.

The vehicle was eventually pulled out

The bus company confirmed their driver is recovering.

Weather now and it's over to Christopher for the outlook

Thank you very much indeed an good evening to you at home. He cold one

tonight, frosty and for Easter in Scotland, snow showers. This picture

sent in by one of our weather watchers. In the last few moments,

the weather watchers have issued a whether warning yellow. The showers

continuing. Elsewhere it dry night and it dries out day tomorrow, but

it will be cold start and a frosty start. Maybe a view of those showers

drifting through the central lowlands. Towards the north-west,

Santander set the date, plate a pleasant sight, but it will be

bitterly cold at times. We have lost the wind along the north-west coast.

To the cause of the morning, the show is tending to use off for

Easter in parts. Elsewhere largely dry. Sunshine in places. Better than

today. Across the UK as a whole, largely dry, cloudy and cold. Even a

few showers coming in across the ease coast with that breeze of the

north sea. Temperature wise three, four Celsius. It will be cold. The

north sea. Temperature wise three, best of the sunshine in the west.

Elsewhere some brighter moments. Into the evening, Sharia still with

us, peppering the coast at times. -- showers. Into the weekend, high

us, peppering the coast at times. -- pressure staying with us. Largely

settled, but that east wind coming in off the north sea. Come Saturday,

most of those likely across parts of the Borders, said Lanarkshire, the

load 's, faith and Angus. Elsewhere largely dry. Once again cold. Bitter

winds. Sunday, once again largely dry, fairly closely in the east,

Our next update is during Breakfast at 6:25am tomorrow morning.

From everyone on the late team here in Glasgow