address. Even more disturbing than trying to suggest that a private chat amounts to a policy is the fact that while ministers rarely miss the opportunity to condemn publicly the education decisions of Opposition party-run councils—we have just had a spectacular example of that from the back benches—they avoid studiously any criticism of SNP-run councils. As so often with this Government, we are driven to the conclusion that party politics comes first and the fate of our children second. I want to hear from ministers today whether they will do better than praising Renfrewshire Council, whose performance on education, spending, teacher numbers and curricular choice is frankly a disgrace. However, so far, we have had nothing but warm words from the cabinet secretary.

Fiona Hyslop: I know that the member is astute in researching her figures. Is she aware that there has been an increase in spend per pupil in Renfrewshire under the most recent council budget?

Ms Alexander: Indeed I am. I will deal directly with the spending issue. This year, the Scottish Government received a 4 per cent increase in cash terms from the Westminster block grant. Renfrewshire Council got a grant increase of more than 3 per cent from the Scottish Government this year, but it spent less than 1 per cent extra on education services—that is a real-terms cut in education spending in Renfrewshire. I would like to hear what the cabinet secretary has to say about that, because when she has been challenged on the point before, she has defended it on the basis that rolls are falling. Let me enlighten her—school rolls in Renfrewshire are falling by less than 2 per cent and teacher numbers have fallen by in excess of 6 per cent. Is that acceptable?

I offer the cabinet secretary more statistics. Renfrewshire now has the worst pupil to teacher ratios of all Scottish secondary schools. Average class sizes in primary 1 did not come down or stabilise last year in Renfrewshire; they rose. Renfrewshire has one of the worst records on curricular choices as regards the withdrawal of highers and advanced highers, and the total number of nursery teachers has been halved.

I will conclude on this point: personally, I have a lot of time for the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning—we sat on the Education Committee together. However, two years into office, she faces a fundamental choice.

The Deputy Presiding Officer: The member must wind up.

Ms Alexander: Is the character of her leadership of Scottish education simply to defend what her party colleagues have done or will she

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mount a defence of parents, pupils and teachers irrespective of the political colour of the local administration? I hope for the sake of Scottish education—