Halt the rush to force state snoopers on us

THE SNP is in trouble with its plans to foist a Named Person on every child in Scotland and it has only its own obstinacy to blame.

The project started out with a high-minded ideal to protect the welfare of children and prevent the abuses that blight – and sometimes, heartbreakingly, end – children’s lives.

But it has gone horribly wrong in the detail and the remit of the Named Person is so woolly that conflict with parents seems inevitable.

Families rightly worry they could find themselves in a one-sided battle with the state over something as trivial as Sunday school attendance.

And with precious resources being devoted to minor issues, serious cases of abuse and neglect could be missed.

Already in Inverness, where the project has been trialled, we have seen a child who had a Named Person assigned to him dying after being left alone while his mother worked long hours as a barmaid.

The backlash has been building as the public learn more about the astonishing powers of the state snoopers.

Kezia Dugdale is the latest to join the chorus of opposition, arguing that the project should be paused until it can be reviewed by the independent Children and Young People’s Commissioner. It is a suggestion this newspaper applauds, though as long-term opponents of the over-arching power of the state snoopers, we note that Miss Dugdale’s Labour voted with the SNP to bring the legislation forward.

Ruth Davidson’s Tories abstained and yesterday Miss Davidson also suggested a halt to the headlong rush. ‘Let’s press the pause button, get back around the table and find a better way of allocating resources for children who need them most.’

It’s the sensible course, but one the SNP appears too vain to consider.