Liz Smith MSP is currently putting forward a Private Bill in the Scottish Parliament, which if passed would make a 5 day Residential an entitlement for all Scottish children of school age (either in Primary or Secondary school). This means that if passed, the Scottish Government would pay for it.
This is a once in a life time opportunity, but the bill has four major hurdles to get past before it becomes law. In December 2024, the Education, Young People and Education Committee scrutinised and then allowed the bill to go to a full vote in the Parliament chamber, which will happen on Thu 26th March.
If you think residentials are worthwhile and should be paid for - this is time to write to your MSPs and encourage them to vote for the next stage, which would allow further committee scrutiny. If MSP's vote no in March, the bill is dead in the water.
To find who your MSP is, go to here, and enter your postcode. You have 8 MSPs who represent you, your constituency MSP (first past the post) plus 7 regional MSPs who are part of the proportional representation system. You can't write to MSPs outwith your constituency. You can find their email address on the Scottish Parliament website here.
Suggested content of the letter is here. Please complete the details highlighted in yellow, change the colour of the text and send to your MSPs
However we strongly advise that you write personally to your MSPs with your own experience of residentials (either as a parent, child or educator) and encourage them to vote for the next stage. You can use some of the points made in the letter above as a basis of what you write.
You can track the progress of the bill on the Scottish Parliament Website here.
A recent video from Liz is below.
Please also see this older video outlining the aims of the bill. Liz does say the bill would legislate for Secondary children only, this has since been changed and it would be available to Primary and Secondary children.
