Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary Jeremy Purvis MSP has demanded urgent clarification from the Scottish Government about how much extra money is necessary for the SNP to achieve its class size targets.

Mr Purvis was speaking during a debate in the Scottish Parliament about cuts to the education budget.

Commenting, Mr Purvis said:

“The SNP provided no additional resources to deliver what, before the election, it described as the flagship education policy. Teachers, parents and pupils deserve a statement from the Scottish Government to clear up the confusion surrounding the cost of cutting class sizes and exactly how the SNP will pay for it.

“Last week, the EIS voted unanimously to support a strategy to oppose funding cuts, which included ballots for industrial action. Meanwhile, teachers have been raising significant concerns about the future of education and a Liberal Democrat investigation found that councils across the country are struggling to implement strategies to achieve the SNP’s class size target.

“The SNP is all over the place on its class size targets. SNP Ministers are sounding more and more desperate as they try to defend the indefensible.”