Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2026 [Draft]
25 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Mobile Phone Use in Schools (Ban)
I thank Pam Gosal for bringing this debate to Parliament and for sponsoring the recent round-table discussion on the topic, which I was pleased to attend, along with colleagues from across the Parliament.
There is now a growing consensus on the issue. We all share concerns about the impact of mobile phones and screen time on our children and young people. We know that it is causing them harm, anxiety and some real mental health challenges. Some are groomed and abused sexually online and also physically. We need to be mindful of this growing threat.
Colleagues are aware of the Government’s current position on these matters. Back in 2024, the Government published updated national guidance in which I was clear that any headteacher would have my full backing as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills should they see fit to implement a ban, but that decision was ultimately left to headteachers’ discretion. However, there is a growing consensus that more action needs to be taken in this space.
I will mention some of the points that have been made in the debate, in which there have been a number of similarities.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-20881, in the name of Pam Gosal, on a Scotland-wide ban on the use of mobile phones in ...
Pam Gosal (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
I am pleased to deliver one of the final members’ business debates of this parliamentary session on a very important subject. Before I start, I would like to...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
I am grateful to the member for hosting the round-table event that she has described, which I attended. She is quite right to frame the issue in a public hea...
Pam Gosal
Con
I absolutely agree, and the member will hear later in my speech that the Scottish Conservatives will introduce legislation to address that point in the next ...
Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
I thank Pam Gosal for securing this debate on a Scotland-wide ban on the use of mobile phones in schools, and I congratulate her on her powerful and comprehe...
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I thank my friend and colleague Pam Gosal for securing the debate and for the work that she has carried out on domestic abuse during the five years that she ...
Paul O’Kane (West Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I am pleased to contribute to the debate, and in doing so, I thank Pam Gosal for bringing the issue to the chamber, and I wish her well. Pam was one of the f...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Thank you, Mr O’Kane, for your kind words.13:15
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
In following that fine contribution, I, too, pay tribute to Audrey Nicoll. I have always genuinely enjoyed listening to her contributions, especially given t...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Hear, hear.
Willie Rennie
LD
We have looked at the issue of mobile phones, and I have been clear about the damaging effects that I think that they have in the classroom. However, we need...
Pam Gosal
Con
The member says that we should take our time, but the problems are happening right now and we need to act now. As I said in my speech, there is already so mu...
Willie Rennie
LD
I do think we should do that, but this debate has been quite narrowly about mobile phones when I think that we need to look at all the digital tools that we ...
Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
This extremely important subject is more pressing than many of the things that we debate in Parliament, and I thank Pam Gosal for bringing it to the chamber....
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank my colleague Pam Gosal not only for bringing this important debate to the chamber, but for telling me what I need to speak about for the next four mi...
Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
Who, on the Conservative benches, says that we cannot occasionally agree with Willie Rennie? I agree with him about the use of old technology—books. It would...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
I thank Pam Gosal for bringing this debate to Parliament and for sponsoring the recent round-table discussion on the topic, which I was pleased to attend, al...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
I believe that the cabinet secretary has found common ground with the consensus that is emerging in this debate. However, does she recognise that an act of t...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I very much recognise Mr Cole-Hamilton’s point, which is reflective of a growing ask from Parliament for more national direction. We saw that only yesterday ...
Pam Gosal
Con
I have been speaking to the councils in my West Scotland region, and one of the things that they asked for when I brought up the subject was clear direction—...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
I remind the member to always speak through the chair.
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I remind Pam Gosal that the foreword from me at the front of the national guidance document makes it very clear that any headteacher will have my backing as ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Cabinet secretary, I appreciate that you are trying to respond to everybody, but I am conscious of the next debate and of the fact that all the members are h...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I apologise. However, I want to pay tribute to you, too, for your service to the people of Cowdenbeath. Laughter. I shared Mr Rennie’s smile as you advocated...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
That concludes the debate. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business.