SNP minister criticises quality of debate in Holyrood and blames use of phones and tablets

Jenny Gilruth, the education secretary, said one of Holyrood’s deputy presiding officers had told her politicians no longer debate but have “reading out contests”.

It came as she praised the impact of mobile phone bans in schools such as the Royal High School in Edinburgh, which she said had improved behaviour and relationships.

Last month, Ms Gilruth, a former modern studies teacher, stressed she would “support any headteacher who decides to institute a ban on mobile phones in their school”.

However, a Scotland-wide ban on the devices in schools was “not considered to be appropriate or feasible”, new guidance from ministers stated.

Speaking at a fringe event at the SNP conference in Edinburgh, which was hosted by the EIS teaching union, Ms Gilruth said: “If any of you ever watch Parliament TV, if you ever tune into debates or watch committee appearances, routinely MSPs - and I include myself in this - sit on their electronic devices.”

She said Tricia Marwick, a former presiding officer, which is the Holyrood equivalent to the role of the speaker in the House of Commons, previously banned phones.

“One of the DPOs [deputy presiding officers] actually said to me recently, we don’t debate any more in the parliament - we have reading out contests,” Ms Gilruth said. “And I think to some extent that’s true.

“So maybe we should look at the use of electronic devices in our parliament, because we’re asking our kids to do something in terms of their behaviour, and maybe politicians should learn similarly to engage better by not using our electronic devices all the time.”

She later added: “This isn’t just about young people, remember. We often try to make it all about young people in schools. Well, no, it’s about all of us. It’s about how we all talk to each other, how we all engage.

“That’s why I made the point, actually, about the parliament, because I do think that impacts on the way in which political debate, we engage with each other. It can get really fraught, and part of that, I think, sometimes, is because we’re not always present in the moment and listening to each other. So we’re asking young people to do something and we’re not modelling that behaviour ourselves.”

Guidance published last month made clear head teachers will be “empowered to take action up to and including whole school bans” where they believe this to be necessary.

Previous research found almost one in three 15-year-olds “reported being distracted using digital devices in most or every maths class”, while about a quarter of pupils had been “distracted by other pupils using digital devices”.

The Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR) from 2023 highlighted an increase in “the abusive use of mobile phones in schools” – with devices used to “bully or harass” pupils and staff, with incidents filmed and posted on social media platforms.

But the publication also set out “some benefits to pupils taking their mobile phones to school”, with the example given of youngsters being able to use them to order school meals.