THREE Wee County schools built under controversial finance agreements have been given a clean bill of health, according to the council.

The Alloa, Alva and Lornshill academies were all provided under similar Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) which have come under fire in recent weeks.

A number of schools in Edinburgh, built using the finance model, were closed earlier this month due to safety concerns, which some literally falling apart.

In response, Clackmannanshire Council carried out visual inspections of the three secondary schools, with no concerns raised as a result.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "Clackmannanshire Council regularly inspects and reviews all properties we are responsible for.

"Clackmannanshire's three secondary schools were constructed under a PPP contract by the Clackmannanshire Schools Education Partnership (CSEP) in 2007.

"None of our schools were built by the contractors who built the schools in Edinburgh. However, as a precautionary measure and for reassurance, we have conducted visual inspections of our schools and can confirm that no issues of concern were found."

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) are collaborations between local or central government and a private sector company which provide some kind of public service.

PFI is a form of PPP and typically involves an infrastructure project, such as the building of a school, hospital or prison, the funding for which is provided by the private sector with the public body paying it back over time.

The biggest incentive for using PFI is that councils and governments can have new buildings or facilities quickly and without the need to provide the money upfront.

However, critics have argued the projects are poor value for money in the long-term, with private companies securing large profits from taxpayers.

The issue became all the more controversial as 17 schools in Edinburgh, all built under the PFI model, were closed on safety grounds.

Some of the buildings were literally crumbling, with fears that some many have to be torn down and rebuilt.

Keith Brown, SNP candidate for the Clackmannanshire and Dunblane constituency seat, said: “I am pleased to have received assurances from Clackmannanshire Council that our three secondary schools, built under PFI, are structurally sound.

“The real issue when it comes to PFI is, of course, the huge debt that this funding model has incurred which will see the children currently attending these schools still repaying when their own children are being educated years from now.

“Back in 2002, when I was the leader of Clackmannanshire Council, I proposed a not for profit trust model to finance our school improvement programme which would have allowed us to make every penny of council tax payers' money count, but that was blocked by the Labour Party who preferred to fill the pockets of private financiers.

“There is no doubt that our children and young people have benefited from these new schools – I would not argue otherwise.

"However, it is impossible to hide the fact that Labour’s exorbitant PFI schemes have saddled taxpayers in Clackmannanshire with massive debts - £258,000 in interest alone every month in 2015/16 - which will take decades to pay off and put increasing pressure on frontline services – that’s the real legacy of the last Labour administration in Clackmannanshire.”

Craig Miller, Scottish Labour candidate for the Clackmannanshire and Dunblane constituency, added: "Pupil safety is the absolute priority for any local authority. Edinburgh took the right decision to temporary close those affected schools.

Clackmannanshire schools have been checked and are completely safe.

"The model of funding, whilst not universally popular, is not to blame for the defects in those Edinburgh schools, that is the responsibility of the contractor.

"Scottish Labour delivered three brand new, state of the art schools, to replace the crumpling, outdated and poorly kept former school campus', this has resulted in a better working and study environment for pupils."