Press Releases

MP calls for clarity over crossing patrollers

Perth and North Perthshire MP, Pete Wishart, has visited concerns parents in Stanley to discuss the chaotic handling of the removal of school crossing patrollers.

The Tory and Lib Dem Administration voted 7 votes to 6 at a meeting of the Lifelong Learning Committee to remove crossing patrollers from communities such as Stanley, Rattray and Kinross. It was then decided following the local authority budget that safety assessments would be carried out before removing any patrollers. More recently parents seemed to be given some form of reprieve as rumour circulated that patrollers would be kept until 2020. This has since been denied by council officers. 

Speaking today (Friday 8th March), Mr Wishart said:

“This is a council in chaos. First, they vote to remove school crossing patrollers with no input from staff, parents or pupils and now they seem to be doing the hokey-cokey over what will actually happen with this much valued service.

“I have spoken to parents in Stanley who now have no idea what the future holds, given they have been told different things by different representatives of the council. It would appear the council is not certain what will happen here at all. The council need to stop prevaricating and give staff and parents the certainty they are asking for."

SNP Councillor Grant Laing added:

“The Tories and Lib Dems need to come clean and tell communities what is actually happening. It seems that every day since the initial vote was forced through, we hear a slightly different version of events. That is not good enough.

“Nobody knows when or if the cross patrollers will go. Parents are quite rightly demanding some leadership from the council on this.”