End the disastrous Named Person plan

THE Scottish Government’s ongoing fight to keep its Named Person scheme staggering on is just a face-saving exercise.

The key plank – the sharing of information about children without the knowledge of parents – was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in July last year.

Foisting a Named Person on every child was always a mistake, diverting scant social work resources away from genuinely at-risk children while generating mountains of paperwork on trivial issues affecting ordinary families.

Many sensible voices were raised against the project. All were brushed aside by a dogmatic SNP.

That same dogma remains on display as Education Secretary John Swinney presses on with amendments when the entire scheme is, in reality, in ruins.

The latest tinkering has been evaluated by the Faculty of Advocates, who warn the amended scheme would fall to the first legal challenge.

The latest iteration would still place an unfair burden on teachers tasked with sharing information about pupils.

And the faculty reinforces one of the criticisms that has haunted this scheme from the start – it threatens to undermine trust with families.

Surely the time has come for Mr Swinney to stop trying to save his party’s blushes and to bring this disastrous project to an end?