The Scottish Government is deliberately delaying the construction of a new flagship Dundee school to “balance the books”, a city councillor has claimed.
Laurie Bidwell said Finance Secretary John Swinney is attempting to “hide” the cost of the £27 million Baldragon Academy to cover up financial mismanagement.
The SNP minister has already admitted that a funding foul-up will mean a delay in unlocking cash for the project, which could hold up the project for “four or five months”.
The flagship school was due to open in 2017 and Mr Bidwell said it is “very disappointing” that the secondary will now not be open for business until at least a year later.
Mr Swinney branded the comments “ill-informed” and accused Mr Bidwell of “carping from the sidelines”.
Mr Bidwell said: “There must be a motivation in this delay.
“It appears the Scottish Government must be trying to balance the books by holding back on construction projects like this. It is being hidden.
“We have been told it is just paperwork. If it is just paperwork, why haven’t they sorted it out?
“Now the school will open at least a year after it is supposed to. That is very disappointing.”
It emerged last week that Baldragon Academy is one of a dozen schools and hospitals which will run indefinitely behind schedule while Mr Swinney sorts out whether they should be classified public or private by the EU.
EU statistics rules on private finance have changed and now prevent member states from using the method to avoid putting major public assets on their national accounts.
Keeping such projects off the books can be financially beneficial to governments.
On Monday night, councillors agreed to fork out up to £1.5 million to press ahead with the construction of an energy centre at the site.
The boiler room was meant to be built as part of the Baldragon Academy project, but would have been used with the new nearby Jessie Porter Nursery and Sidlaw View Primary.
The funding delay, however, could have put the opening of the two schools for younger people in jeopardy.
Education convener Stewart Hunter said that at a recent meeting of Cosla, where the issue was discussed, there was cross-party agreement that it was not the fault of the Scottish Government.
He said: “My counterparts, including those in the Labour party, were very clear that in no way did they blame the Scottish Government.”
A spokesman for Mr Swinney said: “We are disappointed by the situation but also by ill-informed remarks like these. The only motivation to the delay is that this is a complex issue requiring careful consideration.”