Now the SNP wants to put your toddlers in state-run centres
TODDLERS could soon be placed in state-run ‘development centres’ under plans to give the Scottish Government far greater control over how children are raised.
Thousands of parents would be sent on courses to learn how to bring up their children.
Specialists will go into family homes to check whether children have access to educational books and toys.
The moves were detailed in a report calling for new measures to help Scottish families with problems such as poverty, drug addiction or teenage pregnancy. The Health Inequalities Policy Review was undertaken by the NHS Health Scotland watchdog for the Scottish Government.
It calls for underprivileged children to be sent to government-approved ‘child development centres’ for up to 30 hours a week of free childcare from the age of 12 months.
The plans have been welcomed by some as a bold step to tackle inequality. But critics have warned that any plans to increase the role of the state in childcare could erode the rights of parents.
Ken Frost, founder of political blog Nanny Knows Best, said: ‘It is not the state’s role to lecture people on how to bring up their children. Twelve months is too early to separate a child from its mother.’
The report says: ‘Inequalities in health, between the most and least privileged people and communities, are clearly apparent in Scotland. Social inequalities in early life experiences, education, employment, family life, income and housing can shape people’s health.
‘Such differences are clearly unacceptable. Those in the best circumstances need least support and intervention from public services. Those in the poorest circumstances need support according to their need.’
The report is being examined by MSPs as part of an investigation into Scotland’s health inequalities.
But it has raised fears of further interference in family life following the Scottish Government’s plans to introduce a named state guardian for every child – such as a health worker or teacher.
That move is now subject to a legal challenge amid fears it interferes with the rights of parents to bring up children.
All Scottish children are already entitled to free parttime nursery places – but they start at three and are only for 16 hours a week.
A spokesman for campaign group NO2NP, which opposes the introduction of state guardians, said: ‘This is yet another layer of the “nanny state”. Even the most well-meaning form of intervention can undermine parental authority and degrade the important private relationships in families.
‘The vast majority of parents need neither support nor interference from outside bodies and should be trusted and left alone to do what they do best: look after their own children.’
Scottish Labour health spokesman Jenny Marra said: ‘If we want such groups to run regularly in our communities, especially in our most deprived communities, the SNP Scottish Government will have to look seriously at putting more staff in place to run them.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are determined to reduce health inequalities. Our ground-breaking Children and Young People Act has early intervention and prevention at its heart and supports children, young people and families through joined-up services to prevent problems escalating or having long-term effects.’
‘Twelve months is too early’