A LOCAL politician has bemoaned a lack of air monitors available to schools in Clydebank and across the West of Scotland region.

Conservative MSP Maurice Golden challenged SNP politicians in the area to back his calls to provide every school in Scotland with air quality monitors.

Mr Golden said: “We have a real lack of air quality monitoring equipment, not only in the West of Scotland, but right across Scotland.

“Last year saw only five units used across the whole of the country, which is just not good enough when we want to do all we can to protect our children’s health.

“That is why I am calling on SNP MSPs across this region to back my calls on Clean Air Day for air monitors to be made permanently available in our schools.

“This will enable parents, stakeholders and the Scottish Government itself to gain more information about the levels of air quality around our schools.

“Right now, the SNP Government are not on track to meet their Clean Air Targets for 2020, which is why we need to take urgent action.

“Installing air monitoring equipment is an effective way of doing this and I hope that the SNP MSPs I have written to, will add their support to my campaign.”

However, Clydebank’s MSP Gil Paterson accused Mr Golden of scaremongering and said he struggled to see the value of “blanket monitoring”.

He said: “Maurice Golden wants every school in Scotland to have this equipment – every school. Are we to take this seriously?

“You have to wonder if this is his latest ploy to deliberately alarm parents and break the budget. This is an MSP who has just voted to cut the Scottish budget by £500 million.

“There are schools within my constituency, such as Edinbarnet Primary, which are situated in areas where I struggle to see the value of blanket monitoring.

“Another school, just north of Clydebank, is situated in a rural setting among open fields. Indeed, there are schools all over Scotland which are in rural and semi-rural locations.

“Is Mr Golden really suggesting that this would be the best use of scarce resources which he would cut even further at the first possible opportunity?

“Air pollution is a serious issue and it has to be tackled, but it has to be tackled sensibly not with foolish, headline-grabbing statements.

“In my view money would be better spent on traffic control measures around schools, encouraging walking and cycling to school and targeting monitoring equipment in areas of concern rather than fitting expensive equipment in schools where it will be completely unnecessary.”