A Landmark Moment: Scottish Parliament Passes “Calum’s Law”

This is a campaigner-inspired Member’s Bill – not a Government Bill – so to make it to the statute book is a particularly significant event.

Driven by her son Calum's traumatic experience of restraint when he was just 11 years old, the campaign was led by Enable Trustee, Beth Morrison, together with another parent, Kate Sanger. Their tireless advocacy inspired Enable’s ‘In Safe Hands?’ campaign. Beth and Kate have worked with organisations and policy-makers across the country to ensure the rights of the most vulnerable children are respected and upheld, in line with United Nations conventions.

Guided through Parliament by Daniel Johnson MSP, this law is a triumph not only for parents who wouldn’t give up doing everything they could to make schools safer for disabled children, but also of the power of evidence-led campaigning to drive real change and enhance Human Rights for all.

Calum and Beth were at the Scottish Parliament today for this historic vote, and this remarkable achievement shows the impact disabled self-advocates and their families can make to our public discourse, bringing evidence-based arguments to Parliament to change the law of Scotland.

The Bill moves Scotland towards meeting key recommendations which the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child UNCRC made to the UK in 2023. However, it does not meet all the recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities UNCRPD from back in 2017. Enable will continue to campaign for a consistent approach to reducing – and ultimately eliminating – restraint and seclusion, not only in schools, but in hospitals and care settings too.

Today, Enable stands alongside Beth and all campaigners working to ensure that every child across Scotland is truly in safe hands at school as we work to build an equal society where everyone has the right to live, work and participate in the communities of their choice.