Lessons from the Edinburgh school closures will be learnt across the UK

Andrew Burns of Edinburgh City Council said Scottish and UK ministers should examine the findings of the inquiry, led by construction expert John Cole, when they are published in December.

By the start of term last week, children and young people had returned to all the schools affected in April after the collapse of a wall at Oxgangs Primary. About 7,500 pupils and more than 600 staff from nurseries, primaries, secondaries and special schools had to be moved pending safety inspections and repairs.

The Labour councillor denied opposition claims that funding the schools in a public-private partnership (PPP) had played any part in the defects. He cited similar defects in wall and header ties – which bind brick walls to the main structure – in other buildings that were constructed under traditional procurement, including Lourdes Primary in Glasgow.