Exposed... Named Persons’ fatal f law
Swinney admits abusers can refuse to co-operate
JOHN Swinney has admitted the SNP’s illegal state guardian scheme stops working if abusers refuse to engage with the system.
The Deputy First Minister said the service ‘relies on co-operation’ of parents, as he vowed to press forward with the unlawful initiative.
The comments undermine one of the key arguments for so-called Named Persons – that they will help to rescue children from abuse and neglect.
It emerged earlier this year that Inverness toddler Clyde Campbell had no contact with his Named Person in the year-and-a-half leading up to his cot death because his mother, Amanda Hardie, asked the guardians to stay away. Hardie, who repeatedly left the two-yearold unattended in her city flat in the run-up to his death, was jailed for ten months in May, and a Highland Council review is under way.
In another case, Fife toddler Liam Fee was tortured and murdered by his mother and her civil partner despite being subject to an early version of the Named Person scheme in Fife.
Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court in London ruled key parts of the legislation underpinning Named Person were unlawful.
Mr Swinney said: ‘Sadly there are very difficult situations and, unfortunately, children sometimes come to harm and we have to do everything we possibly can to minimise that.
‘But the examples that we’ve had of these cases demonstrate a significant amount of willingness of the individuals responsible not to co-operate with public authorities, and the Named Person service relies on co-operation.
‘That is what it was founded upon and we want to make sure that it’s rolled out for the benefit of young people across Scotland.’
The minister added that the ‘key evidence’ from the Highland model was the need for greater early intervention in situations where a youngster has difficulties, and a ‘very significant reduction in the number of children on the at-risk register, and the number of cases going to the Children’s Panel’.
He said: ‘These have been really significant achievements because of the early intervention activity that the Named Person service represents.’
Mr Swinney also said that he remained ‘committed’ to the policy, although it will not be rolled out nationally on the last day of this month, as initially planned, pending changes being made to comply with European human rights legislation.
Judges decided that informationsharing provisions could result in disproportionate interference with Article 8 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights – the right to a family and private life.
Scottish Tory education spokesman Elizabeth Smith said: ‘If Named Person was just about co-operation, the SNP wouldn’t be in the mess it finds itself in. It’s an over-reaching policy which intrudes on family life.
‘What the SNP should be admitting is every child in Scotland having a Named Person will dilute resources for those most in need.
‘And that’s what really risks more of these tragic cases occurring.’
New legislation putting the brakes on the state guardian scheme was introduced at Holyrood this week.
Comment – Page 16