Now investigate ALL Named Person pilot schemes – watchdog
Review after senior judges condemned SNP’s State snooping
SCOTS councils have been ordered to review all Named Person schemes amid fears they are breaking the law.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) watchdog yesterday called for a review of all pilot initiatives.
It came after the Supreme Court ruled that a national rollout could breach families’ right to privacy.
Insiders involved in the pilot schemes said families’ private information had been routinely passed around public bodies even though there were doubts if the practice was legal.
Shortly after the Supreme Court verdict, the ICO issued a statement saying information could continue to be shared between public bodies for child protection purposes.
But when asked about its advice to councils operating Named Person pilot schemes, it said: ‘It should be understood that specific Scottish councils are piloting non-statutory, single point of contact schemes similar to, but not the same as, the Named Person service proposed under the Children & Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (CYPA).
‘As such, these pilot schemes must be in compliance with legislative obligations under current law.
‘The Supreme Court judgment ... provides a timely prompt for those councils to review their current processes to ensure they are compliant.’
More than 270,000 Scots children already have a Named Person under pilot schemes introduced by councils such as Edinburgh, Highland, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Falkirk.
The scheme had been due to be rolled out across Scotland at the end of next month. But that was put on hold after the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that guidance on datasharing is limited and could breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Scottish Government was given 42 days to tell the Supreme Court what it will do to make the scheme comply with the law.
But guidance issued by the Scottish Government to councils yesterday appeared to ignore the ICO’s recommendation. It said: ‘Local authorities and health boards should take care to reiterate the voluntary nature of any advice, information, support or help offered by the Named Person.
‘Where there is a Named Person in place, it continues to be appropriate for any person or organisation to share information with the Named Person where the conditions set out in the Data Protection Act are met and the sharing is compatible with the Human Rights Act.’
Campaigners have urged families who think their personal information has already been shared between a Named Person and public bodies to take legal action.
Simon Calvert, from the No to the Named Person campaign group, said: ‘This serves to illustrate our deep-rooted concerns.
‘Deputy First Minister John Swinney has been forced to tell public bodies they must act within the law and the ICO feels the need to remind bodies of their responsibilities to operate in compliance with the law.’
The Scottish Mail on Sunday has been told that senior Scottish Government officials within the project team implementing the Named Person scheme were aware of the scale of illegal data-sharing.
Our source said: ‘There’s already an amount of information that is shared but it is probably shared inappropriately and ineffectively.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We aren’t aware of any such practice, as alleged by this anonymous source.
‘Clearly, public authorities must comply with the requirements of relevant legislation.’
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: ‘The SNP Government has made an absolute mess of the Named Person scheme.
‘The Supreme Court’s ruling confirmed that.’