Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 29 January 2026 [Draft]
29 Jan 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
::The children’s commissioner raised that point during her evidence. She said that she was in favour of putting the current guidance on a statutory footing but that much of the landscape is not an statutory footing and should be considered. The more that we legislate, the more complicated those interactions become, so we must look at how to take a whole-system, considered approach across the landscape.
That is also part of the wider debate and discussion about behaviour, violence and additional support needs. We must be crystal clear in what we say to staff and teachers about what we expect of them, because contradictory messages sometimes come from here and from the Government. I would be sympathetic to taking a look at the legislative landscape.
In conclusion, the real benefit of the bill is that it will bring clarity and a sense of priority and will give staff confidence about what we expect them to do and how they should conduct themselves as professionals. For all those reasons, the Liberal Democrats will support the bill today.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
::The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-20519, in the name of Daniel Johnson, on the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill at stag...
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
::It is a huge privilege to move the motion in my name, which seeks the Parliament’s support for the purposes and general principles of my bill. I begin by t...
Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
::In articulating his points, would the member in charge of the bill like to address the campaign email that MSPs have received from the Educational Institut...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
::I am afraid that I have only six minutes, and I would also like to address the points that the committee made.Essentially, what I am proposing is not new—t...
Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
::I am delighted to speak on behalf of the Education, Children and Young People Committee. I begin by thanking the member in charge of the bill, Daniel Johns...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
::I congratulate Daniel Johnson on the progress that he has made thus far in legislating on restraint and seclusion. Mr Johnson and I have been engaged over ...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
::I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for her kind words. Does she agree that it is important to stress that, although that guidance was published in 2024...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
::I am happy to support the points that Mr Johnson made. The guidance will be familiar to teaching staff and those who work in our schools. It is important t...
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
::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 k...
Paul O’Kane (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
::I join colleagues from around the chamber in thanking my friend and colleague Daniel Johnson for his work on the issue and the bill. It is no small feat to...
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green)
Green
::I begin by thanking and congratulating Daniel Johnson on his bill and all the work that he has put into it. I thank the committee for its meticulous scruti...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
::I congratulate Daniel Johnson on getting this far with the bill. He has done a very professional job in convincing all sides of the bill’s merits, and it h...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
::I am thinking about Mr Rennie’s points in relation to behaviour by pupils with additional support needs. Is it his view that the Government should, in futu...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
::I can give you the time back, Mr Rennie.
Willie Rennie
LD
::The children’s commissioner raised that point during her evidence. She said that she was in favour of putting the current guidance on a statutory footing b...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
::We move to the open debate.15:16
Jackie Dunbar (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
::I, too, congratulate Daniel Johnson and thank him for bringing the bill to the Parliament. I also thank my colleagues on the Education, Children and Young ...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
::The background to the bill has been well set out this afternoon by Daniel Johnson, and I congratulate him on its reaching stage 1.The issue of restraint an...
Karen Adam (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
::I will start my remarks where the public conversation on the bill started, which is with the parents and the carers who have had to live through something ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
::George Adam is the final speaker in the open debate.15:29
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
::This has been a difficult bill to fully get my head around, not because the problem that it seeks to address is unclear but because we must be honest about...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
We move to closing speeches.15:33
Paul O’Kane
Lab
::I will begin by picking up on what we have heard this afternoon, starting with the Education, Children and Young People Committee’s work, which has been ve...
Roz McCall (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
::I add my congratulations to Daniel Johnson on doing the wheen of work that goes into bringing a bill to this stage. I also congratulate, as many members ha...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
::I thank members from across the chamber for their contributions to today’s debate, which has been remarkable for the conciliatory tone that we have had acr...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
::I almost do not know how to respond to the overwhelming and universal compliments that I have received this afternoon. I cannot claim not to occasionally u...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
::That concludes the debate on the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill at stage 1. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item...