Backers of Named Person scheme now say it is ‘unworkable’
SCOTTISH ministers are being urged to re-think plans for a Named Person scheme as some of its previous backers now warn it is unworkable.
MSPs who in the past were in favour of a state-sponsored guardian for every child in Scotland now admit the move does not have the support of parents and professionals.
The latest blow for the SNP plan comes a week after an all-party group at Holyrood - the Delegated Powers Committee – urged the government to reconsider its legislation.
The Supreme Court has overturned aspects of the plans to see a single point of contact, such as a teacher or health visitor, appointed to look out for the welfare of every child in Scotland.
Ministers must publish a code of practice on the sharing of information about children.
However, the committee expressed concerns that the draft code does not offer sufficient clarity and will not be published until after the Bill is passed.
Now MSPs on the Education Committee, at which Education Secretary John Swinney is to appear this week, say there is a change in tone and substance among organisations that previously supported the principles of the bill.
Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, previously one of the most prominent names in favour of the proposals, said: ‘After having initially supported the Named Person measures we now question its implementation.
‘(The move) has lost the confidence of parents and many professionals.
‘There has been significant mission creep in the way it will work, with practitioners, out of fear that they will be criticised for not complying with the law, going beyond what their professional judgment would dictate.’
Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith MSP, who has long opposed the Named Person proposal, also warned that the very people expected to make it work did not believe it would be possible to do so.
She said: ‘The debate is no longer whether the Named Person policy is a good or a bad thing in principle but whether it is workable or not. The overwhelming response from those who will be charged to be Named Persons is that it is not.
‘No longer does it have the support as the best policy for helping our most vulnerable children, which is surely the most important aim of the Bill.’
The No to Named Persons campaign, which has spearheaded opposition to the Bill, last night renewed calls for the policy to be scrapped.
A group spokesman said the scheme was ‘holed below the water line and rapidly sinking under a tsunami of condemnation from experts and those expected to implement it’.
He added: ‘The draft code has been attacked on all sides by information watchdogs, teachers, lawyers and health visitors.’ A Scottish government spokesman said: ‘Full support will be provided to children and young people, parents and practitioners to build confidence in the service and ensure successful implementation.’