Ditch your ‘broken’ Named Person plan, Ruth tells Sturgeon
NICOLA Sturgeon was yesterday urged to scrap her ‘broken plan’ to appoint a state snooper for every child in Scotland.
The First Minister was told by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson that the controversial Named Person scheme is ‘in tatters’.
Her comments came after Holyrood’s education committee voted to refuse to give its approval to the legislation – leaving it facing a lengthy delay.
Miss Sturgeon insisted she would still pursue the scheme when pressed on the issue at First Minister’s Questions yesterday but admitted the committee’s decision would ‘delay’ it.
Miss Davidson said: ‘What the First Minister does not understand is that the policy is a mess. It is only she and the Deputy First Minister who cannot seem to see that.
‘Everybody wants protection for vulnerable children, but it is now clear that parliament has joined the public in no longer having confidence in the Named Person plans.
‘We should focus resources on those who actually need it, rather than having blanket interference for every family in Scotland.
‘We are willing to get around the table to find a fresh solution but, first, the First Minister needs to ditch this broken plan. Her Named Person policy is in tatters. Will she simply concede that, so that we can all move on?’
MSPs on the committee were concerned that Deputy First Minister John Swinney had failed to provide them with a detailed ‘code of practice’ for those who will act as named persons.
Earlier this month, Mr Swinney apologised to MSPs for providing a draft code of practice for the revised scheme which caused ‘confusion and uncertainty’. But he also said he was not minded to consult on a final code of practice until the legislation had passed.
As it stands, the detailed code was not due to be published until September 2018. Unless the Scottish Government brings this forward, the new legislation will not be able to be introduced to parliament until after then.
Yesterday, Miss Sturgeon’s spokesman was unable to say if the code of practice would be published earlier than first planned.
At First Minister’s Questions, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘The Scottish Government will proceed with its Named Person plans for the simple reason that they are in the best interests of children, particularly vulnerable children, across the country.
‘We are disappointed by the committee’s decision. We think that it is unnecessary to delay stage one, although we recognise it and will now work with the committee and the Parliamentary Bureau on the timing.
‘In the meantime, we will get on with the work of developing that code of practice and I will end this answer where I started it: it is about the protection of children.
‘The Bill is not about the principle of the Named Person scheme, but about the information sharing that is necessary to ensure that vulnerable children do not fall through the gaps in services.’
Miss Davidson also pressed the First Minister on claims that some witnesses were lobbied before appearing at the committee.
She said: ‘It is usual that organisations lobby government and not that government lobbies organisations.’
Miss Sturgeon replied: ‘Let me explain the difference between the Tories and this Government when it comes to engaging with stakeholders. Yes, stakeholders lobby the Tories when they are in government and the Tories ignore them.
‘Organisations lobby this Government and we respond and seek to address the concerns that they have. That is how responsible government operates.’
MSPs refuse to back Named Person Bill Yesterday’s Scottish Daily Mail ‘Her policy is in tatters’
ALL that was missing was the empty bowl and the raggedy mite mumbling, ‘Please, sir, I want some more’. Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard forwent the conventional Q&A format of First Minister’s Questions in favour of an amateur dramatics production of Oliver Twist.
Attempting to pin down Nicola Sturgeon on local government financing, he grubbied his face and pleaded with the beadle of Bute House to think of the children before cutting too harshly.
He described a visit to a community centre in Fife where he met charitable youngsters who were giving up their free time to help those less fortunate.
Continuing like the narrator of a penny dreadful, the Labour leader evoked grim scenes of penury: ‘They were sorting parcels for needy families for Christmas. The parcels included coats, scarves and gloves to be delivered to families who are living in abject poverty. That is the reality of Tory Britain, and the reality of SNP Scotland.
‘It is a Dickensian Scotland, where too many families are forced to turn to food banks, and where schoolchildren are dispatching emergency parcels to help their classmates at Christmas.’
While no one would doubt the very real problem of poverty, Mr Leonard’s turn made it sound as though the entire country was one misplaced farthing away from the workhouse. Eventually, he would be forced to lead a band of impish pilferers through the smog-choked streets, liberating merchants of their watches, while warbling ‘You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two’. Mind you, if you’ve read his tax plans, it’s not entirely clear he isn’t doing this already.
Mr Leonard has had a good start at FMQs but is falling into the trap of confusing wordy questions for powerful ones. Miss Sturgeon is a high priestess of evasion and obfuscation and as such welcomes verbose inquiries. Short, sharp interrogatives, however, would have a better chance of throwing her off her pace.
We were soon swept away from late Victorian Scotland to the unforgiving deserts of the Middle East. The night before, Donald Trump had issued a proclamation recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Ex-rising star Anas Sarwar urged the First Minister to condemn Trump, which she had already done, and to press the UK Government to condemn him too, which it had already done.
THERE are few sights to conjure a cringe quite like Holyrood discussing international relations. It’s like supping a pint at the bowling club and suddenly a debate on post-structuralism breaks out.
It’s not just that most MSPs are out of their depth; they are soul shrivelling lye arne st about it, intoning with the gravity of a teenager practising their class talk on the ozone layer in the mirror.
Still, the First Minister jumped at the chance: ‘The decision that Donald Trump took on Jerusalem was reckless, wrong and a real threat to peace in the Middle East.’
Miss Sturgeon, Henry Kissinger in high heels, regaled the chamber with her blueprint for peace. She wants to bridge the gap between Israelis and Palestinians, which is ambitious when she can’t even bridge the gap between North and South Queensferry.
Closer to home, Willie Rennie urged the First Minister to back a referendum on the final Brexit deal. She wouldn’t be drawn on that, which would involve taking a position on something difficult, so, clutching desperately for an answer, she concluded: ‘The sooner we are in control of our own future here in Scotland the better.’ Take back control. Where have we heard that before?