Tories in new attack over class-size plans

Published on Saturday 25 July 2009 19:28

THE Tories have launched a fresh attack on Scottish Government plans to cut class sizes, claiming two-thirds of councils had failed to include the pledge in their deals with the Nationalist administration.

The Conservatives said that 24 of the 32 single outcome agreements between individual local authorities and the Government made this year did not mention the promise to reduce class sizes to 18 or less for primaries one to three.

And they said that seven of the councils that failed to mention this pledge were run by SNP administrations.

A spokesman for Schools Minister Keith Brown dismissed the Tory attack as a "complete red herring", arguing instead that the commitment was included in the overall concordat deal between ministers and local government.

But David McLetchie, the Conservative chief whip and a member of Holyrood's Local Government Committee, accused First Minister Alex Salmond of having "conned parents and teachers to get elected" with the promise, which was contained in the SNP's 2007 manifesto.

McLetchie said the First Minister "breaks manifesto pledges with abandon" and stated: "The class-size policy lies in tatters."

He added: "These new revelations follow on from earlier Scottish Conservative calculations that at the current rate of progress it will take 87 years to achieve the target in all of Scotland's primary schools. Now even his own SNP councils are telling him where to go.

"The class-size policy is yet another SNP fraud, just like the broken promises to give grants to first-time home buyers and write off student debt.

"Alex Salmond should be honest enough to admit that his policy is now officially dead and drop this absurd pretence."

But Brown's spokesman hit back and said: "This is a complete red herring. The joint commitment of national and local government to lower class sizes is contained in the overall concordat, rather than each single outcome agreement."

He accused the Conservatives of trying to "mislead parents" on the issue.