Chamber and committees

We have heard harrowing stories from across the chamber about the increasing levels of violence in our schools.

The first time that I heard about the true extent of the problem was when I took part in a panel event with NASUWT. The union spoke openly about how the education workforce is adversely affected by a minority of pupils who challenge authority, use threatening behaviour and abusive language and, in some instances, physical violence. No one should go to work feeling unsafe.

When I was putting together some words to say during the debate, I found myself returning to the same question: “How did things get so bad?” The testimonies that we have heard today from across the chamber are a damning assessment of Scotland’s education system. Colleagues have approached teachers directly so that they could share their stories—that shows that we have a serious problem. It is not our voices that need to be heard but the voices of education professionals who need the Government’s support.

I say to Ross Greer that if he thinks that raising concerns on behalf of parents and young people is stoking a “culture war”, he maybe needs to re-evaluate what it means to be an MSP.

That was not the case at all; we were referring to concerns that were raised on behalf of parents and young people. I do not think that Mr Greer should misconstrue what we were trying to point out.

Voices are powerful, and Murdo Fraser quoted the experiences of one teacher, who said that he had seen people being sworn at, spat at, punched, scratched and bitten, tables being thrown and colleagues having multiple trips to the hospital. However, the part of Murdo Fraser’s contribution that should shame the Government is that that teacher said that the getting it right for every child policy is “an absolute joke”. That did not come from an MSP but from one of Scotland’s educators.

There is something fundamentally wrong with our education system and it is clear that our teachers have had enough.

Will the member take an intervention?

I have taken quite a few, so if the member will forgive me, I would like to continue.

It is reassuring that the majority of speeches today have approached the issue with good intentions.

In June 2022, I raised the issue of violence in our classrooms and, again, the concerns of the NASUWT. One union representative said that it is as though they—meaning the Scottish Government—really do not want to know the scale of the problem. At that time, I also asked the Scottish Government to accept that cuts to council and education budgets—or the inaction with regard to reducing class sizes, which was mentioned earlier—were putting teachers at risk.

Shona Robison, who was the cabinet secretary who responded at that time, then announced that research into school behaviours had been cancelled due to Covid, with no confirmation that the research would be reinstated later. Although the advisory group on relationships and behaviours in schools met last December, the then cabinet secretary did not attend, as Willie Rennie said in his contribution. I think that the advisory board has not met since, which is something that I wanted to ask the cabinet secretary about earlier, because it is important that we, as MSPs, know exactly what the group is discussing so that we can take matters on and raise them fully in our roles.

Stephen Kerr also pointed out that parents are worried about their children’s safety and prospects. Pam Gosal spoke about bullying and the untold damage that it will have on a child’s mental health and ability to learn. That underlines the importance of bringing everyone together to tackle the problem.

I want to know and understand further how the Government can understand the scale of the problem when it has not collected, let alone published, data on violent incidents in our schools since 2016. That was seven years ago; we can hazard a guess about some of the causes.

Yes, I accept that point, but it does not mean that it is acceptable that nothing has happened in seven years.

The Conservative motion is one of concern and solution, so I am pleased that the SNP has supported our principles and action points. It is good to see that it has finally accepted Conservative education policy, although I would say that changing a couple of words and trying to call it an amendment might be a bit of a stretch. However, the Scottish Conservatives will support the SNP’s amendment this evening. That is cross-party working at its best.

I hope that the Scottish Government will agree to our action points—which Stephen Kerr outlined earlier—and in particular the first three: the summit, which must meet urgently; a statement in Parliament on the outcomes of the summit; and an action plan to tackle violence and disruption in our schools.

This Government cannot be allowed to get away with any more years of doing nothing. I welcome the cabinet secretary’s warm words about working to tackle the issue, but until we see the results, it is just another issue on which the Scottish Conservatives will need to hold the Scottish Government to account, in order to end the violence in our schools.

Yesterday, during the Scottish Affairs Committee meeting, the Secretary of State for Scotland announced that the UK Government was still missing elements of the application for an exemption to UK trade rules.

The fault for this disastrous scheme lies firmly at the door of the minister’s office. The shambolic roll-out of the policy has damaged the relationship with and confidence among Scottish businesses. I remind members that thousands of businesses have not even signed up to the Scottish National Party-Green deposit return scheme, because they think that it will be too damaging for their business. The Scottish Retail Consortium has said that one of Lorna Slater’s recently proposed changes to the scheme makes it even less likely that the scheme will go ahead in March 2024, and the Scottish Licensed Trade Association has explicitly said:

“Lorna Slater has effectively torpedoed the scheme”.

Why does the minister think that Scottish businesses are wrong?

Once again, the minister is abdicating responsibility and trying to pin the blame on the UK Government. The deposit return scheme is a long-standing Scottish Government project that it has been responsible for and talked about for years. It is not anybody else’s problem, and everyone but Lorna Slater agrees.

It is time for the minister to put her money where her mouth is. If the minister who is responsible for paying compensation to Scottish businesses is so confident about the scheme and the commitments that she has made today, will she commit to publishing the Scottish Government’s legal advice on who is liable to pay?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will compensate businesses if it decides not to proceed with the deposit return scheme. (S6T-01392)

Scotland’s social care watchdog has said that children as young as 12 are allowed to consent to the use of puberty blockers. That guidance fails to acknowledge the interim Cass review of gender identity services in England, which identified several failings in the Tavistock centre’s management and a lack of evidence to support the use of puberty blockers. More and more brave young people are coming forward to talk openly about detransitioning, about their harrowing stories of surgery and about the lack of mental health and emotional support that they received. Does the First Minister support prescribing of puberty blockers for 12-year-olds?

Modern apprenticeships are essential to training and upskilling our workforce. Many constituents across my region will be concerned about the sector’s future and viability. Last week, the Scottish Training Federation said:

“Scottish Government delays in setting its skills and employability budgets this year is having a devastating impact on training providers. Many have made staff redundant, and several are on the brink of closure.”

If that comes to pass, it will have a devastating impact in my region, including in the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency. I say to the minister that this is a matter of urgency. When will the Scottish Government get its act together and support the industry? When will those budgets be confirmed?