Humza Yousaf has said SNP-run Renfrewshire Council will need to “reflect very hard on how it will rebuild trust with parents” after building a school that was too small.
The First Minister was speaking after an Accounts Commission report warned that “the community and council will be dealing with the consequences of this error for some time".
In 2022, The Herald revealed that the £18m school building should have been able to accommodate 1,100 pupils, but due to an “error” by officials, could only hold 430.
The authority announced in February last year that they now expect 1,500 children to need to use the school by 2033.
A damning initial report described Renfrew as “incompetent” and said the error was “so obvious it is difficult to see how it remained undetected for six years".
The council is now set to build a second primary school in the village, and contribute £15m towards an extension at Park Mains High School in Erskine.
Local Labour MSP Neil Bibby raised the latest report from the Accounts Commission during First Minister’s Questions.
He said the “debacle” is now estimated to cost Renfrewshire’s children and taxpayers up to £170 million.
“The commission has stated that the council faces a challenge to rebuild trust and confidence. It has also stated that the community will be dealing with the consequences of that error for some time.
