Meeting of the Parliament 24 March 2026 [Draft]
I, too, pay tribute to Daniel Johnson, who underestimates his role in this matter. Those of us who have attempted to take through or have taken through a private member’s bill in Parliament know the amount of work that that involves. I pay tribute to him and his office for their work on the bill, which is why we are at this point today. I also thank the non-Government bills unit—I see that the team is sitting at the back of the chamber today. They must be counting down the hours to our passes being deactivated, to be quite honest. They have done a power of work on many pieces of legislation that have, or have not, gone through in this session of Parliament.
It is without doubt that it is only thanks to organisations such as the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and individuals such as Beth Morrison and Kate Sanger that we will see this bill become law.
Beth began her campaign back in 2010. Work then began on a petition to the Scottish Parliament, which was lodged in 2015. I know that Beth and many of the campaigners have also acted as central contacts for many families who have faced similar traumatic situations. That is what has driven most of the work that they have undertaken in order to bring an end to restraint and seclusion. I am aware that Beth and other campaigners have undertaken huge amounts of investigation to try to understand the true scale of the problem and to demand action, which their Parliament is delivering today.
Many of us are wearing a little crown badge, which I am sure that people will be wondering about. All Beth’s work earned her the nickname “Queen Bee”, and the crown comes from that. I am very grateful for being sent one ahead of today’s debate.
The cabinet secretary touched on guidance. What will be really important is how it is received and that it will be implemented in the true spirit of the bill. I have written to the cabinet secretary about the concerns of unions and those of the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland about potential unintended consequences. I hope that, as soon as the guidance is published, it can be shared with all those who are involved. It is important that we and the teaching profession have confidence that common sense will always be looked at. However, it is clear that there are some concerns out there. Although this bill, which I welcome, will pass tonight, those concerns have not all been answered, and I hope that the cabinet secretary will make sure that a response to those concerns is forthcoming.
This is the final education debate of this session of Parliament, so I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those who have worked on the education portfolios during their time in this Parliament, particularly Pam Duncan-Glancy, who has announced that she is not seeking re-election, and my colleague Roz McCall, who has worked on the education bills alongside me. There has been a lot of education legislation over the past year.
We can look back and be proud of some of the opportunities that this Parliament took forward last week in relation to the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill and delivering the Promise.
I also want to thank and pay tribute to my colleague Douglas Ross, who will be making his final speech in the Parliament. He has done a triple now: he has served as a councillor, an MP and an MSP. He was also our party leader—I am not sure whether that was something that he also enjoyed. I know that he has always put his community in Moray first.
Many of us on the Conservative benches have been friends with Douglas and worked alongside him for many years. He might not thank me for saying this, but many people in the other parties probably do not see the true Douglas. He is an incredibly thoughtful and caring individual, who, I always find, remembers things about us and our families that we do not always remember ourselves. He is always checking in. That is one side of Douglas’s character that other colleagues probably have not had the opportunity to see in the rough and tumble of politics. I do not think that today will see Douglas blowing the whistle on his political career. I look forward to seeing him return to serve his community in Moray in the future in the Westminster Parliament.
To conclude, Deputy Presiding Officer—you have been generous in allowing me additional time—I will say that the Scottish Conservatives will be supporting the Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill at decision time.