'Named Person' Appeal Rejected By Court

An appeal against the Scottish Government's plans to assign a 'named person' to every young person in Scotland has been rejected.

Holyrood wants a trusted adult - like a health visitor or teacher - to act as a point of contact for every family and look out for the welfare and wellbeing of every child in the country. Three judges overturned the petition by the No2NP campaign, who say the move undermines the role of parents and possibly breaches the privacy of families.

A named guardian would have the power to share personal information if they were concerned for a child's wellbeing.

CARE for Scotland Parliamentary Officer Dr Gordon Macdonald said: "We are extremely disappointed by the Court’s ruling.

"In recent months, the Scottish Government’s misguided state guardian plans have been strongly criticised by the police, teachers, academics and prominent lawyers as well. Once you emerge from the murky depths of the Scottish Government’s guide to how the guardian scheme will work, it is clear these plans are overly complicated and completely unworkable.
 
"We remain convinced that under the proposals, data protection laws and human rights laws will be breached and this is completely unacceptable. These draconian measures may come from a place of good intentions, but the consequences for the social fabric of our nation will be disastrous."

Warm welcome

But many organisations are happy with the judgement.

Alison Todd, Chief Executive of Children 1st, said: "I warmly welcome the Court reaching a final decision. Children 1st have continuously supported the introduction of the role of a Named Person for every child across Scotland as a single point of contact for families. We have always viewed it as strengthening existing practice to ensure children get the help they need when they need it.
 
"Our work with families in communities across Scotland has demonstrated the importance of making sure there are accessible ways that vulnerable children are noticed and supported to keep them safe, well and in each and every professionals mind.  
 
"We must now work toward fully implementing these parts of the Children and Young People Act and Children 1st staff will continue to contribute to the development of the guidance for professionals to put this into practice."

Theresa Fyffe, Director of RCN Scotland said: "We are pleased at the decision of the court on the judicial review appeal of the named person.
 
"We have confidence in in the named person model and the protection and support it will offer to young people and their families across Scotland. But for the legislation to be successful adequate resources must be in place to support those, like health visitors, who will take on the new role.
 
"It is now crucial that all those involved in delivering the legislation work together to ensure that it delivers."