312 sewage leaks in Scottish schools since 2019

Scottish Liberal Democrats have revealed that since 2019 there have been 312 sewage leaks in Scottish schools as the party highlighted its plans to modernise Scottish school buildings and make Scottish education the best in the world again.

Freedom of information requests submitted by the party have uncovered that:

• Since 2019, there have been 312 sewage leaks in councils across Scotland.

• These have happened in Clackmannanshire, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Fife, Orkney, Perth & Kinross, Renfrewshire, Borders and South Lanarkshire.

• Fife has recorded 247 sewage leaks in schools since 2019.

• In East Ayrshire, sewage spills have affected ten primary schools.

• This has included sewage spilling into corridors and at Mount Carmel Primary School, an incident saw sewage spilling into the infant area.

• In South Lanarkshire, a sewage pipe leaked into a corridor near the nursery at Chatelherault Primary School.

• In the same council area, raw sewage spilled from the staff toilets at Hallside Primary School.


Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“Scottish education is already under heaps of pressure even without pipes and bathrooms causing chaos.

"The Scottish school estate is in a right state. If we want teachers to get on with teaching the next generation the skills that they will need, then we need to provide them with the classrooms and facilities they need to do that job.

"Scottish Liberal Democrats want to get Scottish education back to its best – expanding pupil support in every school and giving every child the best start in life. 

"In many constituencies we are on the verge of winning against the SNP but wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart.”