Chamber and committees

That is helpful. I tend to agree that, in Scotland, we sometimes do not need specific offences for things that we are already prosecuting. For example, there is a recent trend to, basically, stab people in the body to spike them, and not just spike drinks.

I would like to pick up on the AI generation of images. It is a confusing issue. I think that the Scottish Government attempted to secure amendments to a bill, but I am not sure whether it was this one. I know that there were expedited amendments in the House of Lords.

What I am clear about is that there is a gap in the law around the creation of AI images. If someone has not given their consent, that is quite clear and we can already act, but there seem to be some gaps. As you know, this is a strong interest of mine. At some point it would be useful to hear whether the Scottish Government has made an assessment of whether everything is covered in the legislation.

I believe that it is time to ban mobile phones in all Scottish classrooms. We need to shield children from harmful content, misinformation, bullying and other social pressures and—as Pam Duncan-Glancy said—make the classroom a safe place in which to learn.

I was shocked to read that research by Ofcom indicates that a quarter of three and four-year-olds in the UK now have a smartphone and that, by the time they are 12, the percentage rises to 89 per cent. That is the current trend in society, and by the time children come to education, it is much harder for educators to control something that is going on outside.

With the rise in cyberbullying, our children are exposed to an unacceptable amount of danger. There is pressure on parents to provide smartphones—Willie Rennie was quite right to talk about peer pressure—and I think that that would dissolve to some extent if there was a ban on mobile phones in schools.

It would also take the pressure off headteachers themselves, although they would still have to deal with a minority of parents who may still want to keep phones in class. The Government appears to clearly support a ban as long as headteachers make the decision. That is what we are arguing over, and I think that it is a responsibility for Government. Given the trend that I talked about and the harm that is being done to children, it is a decision for Government to make.

I do not believe that such a decision would undermine the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and the delivery of education by local government in any way whatsoever. The tech companies are incredibly powerful, and we know that there is a constant battle with them about social media content and a tension with the policies that we drive to reduce violence against women and girls. The tech companies’ algorithms drive people towards certain behaviours. One of my biggest reasons for supporting a ban on mobile phone use in schools is that an increasing body of data shows that being exposed to excessive social media is rewiring young brains during a critical window of their psychological development. That is my primary concern, and it always has been. I agree with Jenny Gilruth that we should listen to our headteachers, but we should also listen to our scientists. Their views are unequivocal and have been for a decade. I think that that is enough of a basis to say that we have a responsibility to impose a ban on mobile phones in schools.

The cabinet secretary is quite right that MSPs are some of the worst offenders, particularly during committee meetings—we know that. However, we are talking about children and the responsibility that we have towards them. That is why I am speaking in the debate. It is asking a lot of a child to ask them to navigate online content and to protect themselves. At some point in the future, I wonder whether those children will ask us why we did not act more strongly when we had the chance, and why we left it to them to make decisions about their use. Members may have noticed a recent survey of gen Z adults aged between 18 and 27, who have grown up with social media. Members can believe this or not, but the survey found that nearly half them wished that TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter—or X—had never been invented. That generation is already alive to the dangers of smart phone use.

In my final minute, or just under a minute, I want to touch on the wider harms that Patrick Harvie spoke about. He was quite right to say that, by banning mobile phones in schools, we will not reduce all the harm. However, we know that smartphones are used, especially by boys, for intimate image abuse, and that 12-year-olds are exposed to pornography on smartphones. It is as much about protecting boys as it is about protecting women and girls. Clearly, that is a wider issue, but much of that behaviour goes on in schools. For some time, I have been calling on the Government to collect data on what is going on in our schools, because England and Wales have done that. I hope that we will legislate further on what needs to be done to tackle the creation of that content and to teach children that that is unacceptable behaviour.

For those reasons, I believe that this generation expects the Government to take big decisions. I think that the time has come for there to be a national ban on mobile phones in our classrooms.

The cabinet secretary is aware that the completion dates for the M8 Woodside viaduct repairs are currently autumn 2026 for the eastbound carriageway and late 2027 for the westbound carriageway, which is six years since the project began. Further, the budget has gone from £33 million to £152 million.

In 2021, the works were classed as an emergency, which means that there are no penalty clauses for late delivery. How will the Scottish Government ensure that the work is done efficiently and in a timely manner? Can it require Amey to take reasonable steps to accelerate the works, such as paying overtime? Given the nature of the contract—that it has no penalty clauses—what measures can be put in place by the expert group and Turner & Townsend, which is monitoring contract performance, to ensure that Amey is held to account and that there are no further delays to the repair of the M8 viaducts?

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Turner & Townsend regarding its role in auditing and monitoring the work undertaken by Amey to complete the M8 Woodside viaducts. (S6O-04948)

Right on cue.

Good morning. I want to further explore the issue of overcrowding and what leads male prisoners in particular to start taking drugs when they had not previously done so. You heard me gasp when you said that there are 1,400 male prisoners in Barlinnie—that is utterly shocking. I feel for the prison staff who operate in that environment, and for the prisoners.

Why is Barlinnie the prison where you put everybody? Is there a reason why that prison is so overcrowded? That must surely have an impact on the wellbeing of the male prisoners and lead to them taking drugs.

I know that you share my concerns, and I appreciate that you do not make the decisions, but I am trying to understand what you are doing to compensate for the experience of prisoners who are trying to stop going on drugs or to get off drugs, or who want to look after themselves while they are serving their sentence. That is what I am really interested in.

You said that prisoners who are misusing substances must be seen the next day.

Rhoda MacLeod, do you want to come in?

That is clearly not the case. You have 1,400 prisoners in Barlinnie, but there were only 1,300 the last time I looked at the figures. You have 100 more prisoners now. You say that it does not offer as much flex as it used to, but—

I hope that we do not end up in the same position of one prison being overloaded in a week.

I want to ask this next question from the point of view of prisoners. God help the prisoners who have to serve their sentence in those conditions, compared with those who might be in slightly better conditions in the prison estate. Does that get taken into account when you are managing the jail?