Meeting of the Parliament 29 January 2026 [Draft]
::I, too, pay tribute to Daniel Johnson for the work that he and his office have undertaken on his member’s bill. Having taken forward two consultations, I know just how much pressure that work will have put on his office. I want to use this opportunity, as other members have, to pay tribute to the member for getting the bill to where it is today.
It is a few years ago now that I had the pleasure of meeting Beth, Peter and Calum Morrison in Parliament at a round-table event that Daniel Johnson held so that Parliamentarians from across the chamber had an opportunity to hear what the issue was. I remember keeping a document that Beth gave us, which outlined the experience that Calum had, and that takes me back to why we are here today.
On Friday 24 September 2010, when the school bus dropped Callum home at 3.25 pm, his face was ashen, his lips were blue and he was wearing different clothes from those that he had left in the morning—a thin T-shirt, shorts and plimsolls, no underwear and no coat. His own clothes were soaked in urine and stuffed in a plastic bag. That should not be happening in Scotland in this day and age and I hope that, through the opportunity that the bill presents us with today, we will ensure that no parent or carer in our country ever faces a similar situation.
A number of constituents have told me of their children’s experiences. In every case, they have not been able to get answers from those who they trust with their children’s education, safety and wellbeing. A number of parents have highlighted to me the current postcode lottery not only in how schools use restraint but how they record incidents and communicate with parents what has gone on in the school day.
As the convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee has already put on record, we need to understand and learn from the concerns that the EIS is expressing. The committee did not shy away from trying to probe those because the concerns that have been highlighted cite workforce pressures and the legal standing of the bill. There will be cross-party support for the bill, but we have an important role as parliamentarians at stage 2 in the committee and at stage 3 before the election to ensure that the EIS’s questions are answered. The Education, Children and Young People Committee’s consideration of, and unanimous support for, the bill has provided that critique as well.
It is unacceptable for children to return home having been restrained and for their parents and carers to be provided with no information that an incident has taken place. It is unacceptable that such incidents are not recorded and that, when we are often talking about non-verbal children, we do not know what restraint has taken place. Calum was restrained at age 11 by four adults. The training is also not being recorded and we do not know what level the training providers are training people up to. De-escalation should always be the first point of call.
I acknowledge that Scottish National Party ministers have looked to improve guidance. That alone was never going to be good enough to protect children, so I welcome the Scottish Government’s move to support the bill and ensure that it passes through the Parliament. A legal framework should establish not only lines of responsibility, training standards and a reporting requirement but the safety that every one of us expects children in our schools to enjoy. For that reason, Scottish Conservatives will support the general principals of the bill at decision time.