Minsiters accused of ‘major u-turn’ as named person scheme measures published

New legislation on how and when information on families should be shared as part of the “named person” scheme has been published by the Scottish Government.

The proposed new laws are aimed at addressing a legal ruling on the controversial policy which would see a single point of contact, such as a teacher or health visitor, appointed to look out for the welfare of all children.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the measures would bring “consistency, clarity and coherence” to the scheme.

Opponents said they amounted to a “major u-turn”.

Under the Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill, authorities will have a duty to consider if the sharing of information will “promote, support or safeguard the wellbeing of a child or young person”.

They will also be required to ensure the sharing is compatible with data protection, human rights and confidentiality laws.

An accompanying document makes clear that parents can reject advice from a named person, with this refusal “not in itself to be taken as evidence of a risk of harm”.

The new legislation comes after campaigners against the scheme brought a successful challenge to the UK Supreme Court.

Judges ruled last year that elements of the policy were ”incompatible” with the right to privacy and family life as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Mr Swinney was forced to halt the roll-out of the scheme and announced in March he would bring forward new laws on information-sharing.

He said: “The Supreme Court ruled definitively that the intention of providing a named person for every child to promote and safeguard their wellbeing was ‘unquestionably legitimate and benign’, but young people and families must have confidence that information will be shared only where their rights can be respected.

“The Bill being published today will bring consistency, clarity and coherence to the practice of sharing information about children and young people’s wellbeing across Scotland.

“We must ensure that we get it right for every child, but in a way that respects the rights of families fully.”

The Scottish Conservatives said while the clarification on data sharing was welcome, serious concerns about the legislation remain.

Education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “The named-person policy was a huge mistake from beginning to end, which is why the Scottish Government has been forced into a major u-turn.

“The Scottish Conservatives believe that the revised bill still raises many questions and it also lays bare the extent of the expense to the taxpayer of this ill-conceived policy.”

Simon Calvert, of the No To Named Persons (NO2NP) campaign group, which took the case to court, said the information-sharing measures were a “100 per cent climbdown on their (Scottish ministers) original plan of a statutory duty to share information about people’s private lives almost without restriction”.

Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “The implementation of named person has been a complete mess from the start.

“That John Swinney now has to table fresh legislation shows what a farce the scheme has become.

“Labour will consider these changes fairly but there must be a clear plan from the SNP government to rebuild trust in the scheme.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats called for a full independent review of the policy.

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