The Named Persons Scheme due to be enacted in Scotland later in the year has suffered a temporary setback from the highest Court in London.
It has always been a tricky balancing act between the government-envisaged rights of the child and parental responsibility. Either way, the interest of the child, which is considered paramount to both parents and government does not enjoy the same perspective of opinion and role.
The Scottish government aspires that Scotland be ‘the best place in the world for children to grow up’ saying that most children and young people get all the help and support they need from their parents, wider family and community, but sometimes they might need a bit of extra support.
Towards this end, the Scottish government’s Getting it Right for Every Child strategy proposed giving all children and young people from birth to eighteen (18) years access to a named person under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
The named person is intended to be single point of contact if a child or their parents want information or advice, or if they want to talk about any worries and seek support.
This includes being a point of contact for other services if they have any concerns about a child’s wellbeing. The matter which has been under consultation and consideration for about a year was due to become enforceable law across the Scotland on 31 August of this year, although the policy had already been rolled out in parts of Scotland, including Highland, Edinburgh, Fife, Angus and South Ayrshire.
Speaking for the government, Education Secretary, Mr Swinney said the government would start work to amend the legislation “immediately”, so that the scheme can still be rolled out “at the earliest possible date”.
However, this expectation appears to have been stalled by judges at the UK’s highest court who ruled against the Scottish government’s Named Person scheme as BBC reports show.
Opponents of the scheme appealed to the Supreme Court in London after their case was dismissed by the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year.
The system would appoint a named person – usually a teacher or health visitor – to ensure the wellbeing of every child.
Judges say some proposals breach rights to privacy and a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The court said the aim of the Act, which is intended to promote and safeguard the rights and well-being of children and young people, was “unquestionably legitimate and benign”.
However, judges said specific proposals about information-sharing “are not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament”.
And they said the legislation made it “perfectly possible” that confidential information about a young person could be disclosed to a “wide range of public authorities without either the child or young person or her parents being aware”.
The court has given the Scottish government 42 days to set a timetable to rectify the legislation, saying that in the meantime it “cannot be brought into force”.
John Swinney said the government would move to “provide greater clarity” about information-sharing and would start work immediately on the necessary legislative amendments.
The Scottish government has indicated that proposed changes to the named person legislation would be scrutinised by MSPs at Holyrood.
The parliament is in recess until the start of September – after the 31 August date when the scheme was supposed to be implemented
A spokesman for the group that launched the challenge said the “state snooper” scheme had been “blocked” and the government must go back to the “drawing board”.
He called for “intrusive data-sharing powers” to be scrapped.
BBC Scotland, Home Affairs correspondent, Reevel Alderson, giving a perspective to the ruling notes that the ruling by Supreme Court judges – two of whom are Scottish – does not mean the controversial Named Person legislation cannot ever be implemented.
It simply means the Scottish government must make some changes to the law to ensure it complies fully with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The charities opposed to the scheme had already seen judges at the Court of Session in Edinburgh rule on two occasions that it could go ahead.
The appeal to the UK Supreme Court was based on a claim that it breached ECHR.
The judges said in general terms the law – part of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 – did comply.
But they ruled some changes are required to the scheme.
In particular the way in which information could be shared by named persons and others was ruled non-compliant.
The court has said the Scottish government must provide greater clarity about how health visitors, teachers and other professionals who will be Named Persons will share and receive information in their role.
Ministers said they will start work on this immediately.
Although the provisions of the legislation were due to be implemented at the end of August 2016, it will now be delayed until changes can be made.
The appeal was brought by the No to Named Persons (NO2NP) coalition, which includes the Christian Institute, Care (Christian Action Research and Education), Tyme Trust and the Family Education Trust.
