21 Sep 2017
Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to drop her named person scheme and come up with new plans to protect vulnerable children.
It follows a series of legal experts demolishing the SNP’s changes to the proposal after the Supreme Court ruled elements of it unlawful last year.
At First Minister’s Questions today, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said while the protection of young people should be paramount, the Scottish Government had to come up with plans that were legally robust.
During yesterday’s education committee, legal experts said teachers – when they become named persons – would need lawyers “on speed dial”.
Practitioners responsible for delivering the policy would be “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” in relation to sharing information about a young person, Ruth added today.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“It’s clear that the confidence the First Minister appears to have in this scheme isn’t shared by those who’ll be responsible for implementing it.
“The named person policy was ruled unlawful by the highest court in the land, and the SNP’s remedy to that appears to be deeply flawed.
“The Scottish Government has now been well-warned by experts that these changes will push teachers and health workers into a legal minefield.
“When it comes to the sharing of information, they’ll be damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
“It’s time to start again with a blank sheet of paper.
“We all want to protect vulnerable children, but it has to be done within the law.”
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