Fears raised over snooper plan ‘by the back door’
JOHN Swinney is set to press ahead with plans to appoint a ‘state snooper’ for every child – even if the Scottish Government fails to address human rights concerns.
Documents reveal officials are looking at ‘contingency’ plans for the controversial Named Person scheme which could see a watereddown version introduced.
Minutes of meetings held by a taskforce set up to examine informationsharing reveal that the Scottish Government is ready to bypass Holyrood and a Supreme Court ruling if necessary.
The SNP had initially planned to introduce Named Person in 2016, but ministers were forced to rethink key elements after the Supreme Court ruled it breached children’s rights to privacy.
The Education Secretary has appointed a taskforce to look at how information could be shared between the Named Person and other organisations, such as the police, NHS and social work departments.
The Statutory Guidance Reference Group (SGRG) is made up of government, health and council officials. It has met several times, with a report due to be published later this year.
The TYMES Trust charity, which campaigns against the scheme, obtained notes and minutes of meetings through Freedom of Information.
Trust spokesman Lesley Scott said: ‘The focus is clearly on implementing Named Person by the back door.’
The documents reveal that the SGRG is planning for what will happen if the proposed legislation falls because it is not supported by a majority of MSPs at Holyrood.
The group asks: ‘What if the legislation is not passed? Do we need to look at guidance on current laws DP (data protection) & HR (human rights)? Plan B for if Bill falls to make sure parts 4 & 5 can be implemented without information sharing.’
Parts four and five refer to Named Person and the Child’s Plan of the Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Act 2017. Yesterday a Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Supreme Court ruled definitively that the intention of providing a Named Person for every child to promote and safeguard their wellbeing was “unquestionably legitimate and benign” but families must have confidence that informa- tion will be shared only where their rights can be respected.
‘The Information Sharing Bill seeks to address this by providing a clear and consistent way for families to receive the right support at the right time from the right people.’
Mr Swinney was forced to pledge a dramatic overhaul of the controversial Children and
‘Infringed on family life’
Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill after it was ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.
Judges attacked the Named Person policy, insisting the information-sharing clause would infringe on a child’s right to a private life. But the Government vowed to resurrect the scheme, despite calls to ditch it from opponents, campaigners and parents.
Earlier this year, campaigners demanded a public inquiry into the ‘illegal’ sharing of personal data in the SNP’s state snooper plans – as they claimed pilots of the scheme in some areas of the country had broken the law.
They believe the proposals have ‘infringed’ on family life and warn of a breakdown in trust for public services.
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