The Scottish Government’s independent review relating to the concerns at Buchanan and St Ambrose High School campus is now underway, with the full support of NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council (NLC).

The review, which is being conducted by Mr Paul Cackette, the Chief Planning Reporter for the Scottish Government, and Dr Margaret Hannah, a former Director of Public Health, aims to report before the start of the school term in August.

NHS Lanarkshire has welcomed the review as an opportunity to provide further reassurance to families, staff at the schools and the community and has been working with the review team to support this work.

Dr David Cromie, Public Health Medicine Consultant with NHS Lanarkshire, confirmed the board’s position. He said: “NHS Lanarkshire’s public health department, in conjunction with others, has assessed the concerns and risks in relation to the campus and concluded that there is no risk to health from attending the schools or the wider campus.

“The concerns investigated have been in relation to the historical industrial use of the site prior to the schools being built, occurrence of cancer affecting some staff members, the schools’ water supply and specific health concerns relating to arsenic. We have assessed each of these concerns and are satisfied that pupils, staff and others can continue to use the schools and wider campus safely.

“Our position regarding testing of people is that any decision to do so should be based on a clinical assessment of the symptoms and signs that an individual may display.

“We appreciate that some parents and staff are still concerned and we hope they will be reassured to know that the Scottish Government’s independent review has started. Given that this review is now underway and will conclude before the end of the school summer holidays, we will await the outcome of the review before making any further comment.”

You can hear more from Dr David Cromie – and Mr Andrew McPherson from North Lanarkshire Council’s (NLC) Regulatory and Waste Solutions service – in a video that can be viewed on NLC’s Facebook page.

North Lanarkshire Council has also created a leaflet to provide information and reassurance. This, along with commonly asked questions and their answers, water test results, environmental ground risk assessments and other documents, are available to download from the North Lanarkshire Council’s website.

More information on the review can be found on the Scottish Government website.