Poll reveals majority oppose 'intrusive' 'Named person' scheme
A new poll has found fewer than one in four people support the Scottish government's plan to appoint every child in Scotland with a 'state guardian', also known as a 'named person'.
The ComRes poll, commissioned by The Christian Institute, found that nearly two-thirds believe the plans are an "unacceptable intrusion" into family life.
The poll also revealed that 79% of parents said they would be concerned about any disagreements they have with the 'named person' over what was in their child's best interests.
Under the scheme, which has already been rolled out in parts of Scotland and will come into full effect this August, every child under 18 will be allocated a 'named person', such as a teacher or health visitor.
This 'named person' has responsibility to monitor the child's welfare and raise concerns, and also has access to medical and other confidential information about the child.
The scheme has been widely criticised from the outset. The No to Named Persons (No2NP) coalition, who recently lost a court challenge in Scotland against the proposals and have now taken their fight to the Supreme Court, highlighting that the proposals undermine the role of parents and risk exposing children to significant levels of state interference.
Scottish National Party leader 'misleading' parents over scheme
The results to the poll were published last week after the leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon, tried to appease parents over its widely-criticised 'named person' scheme, by wrongly suggesting they can opt out if wished.
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, accused the SNP leader of "misleading" parents, saying it is "completely dishonest" to suggest that the scheme, which would provide a 'state guardian' for every under-18 in Scotland, is not compulsory.
Unveiling the figures Colin Hart, Director of the Christian Institute – which is part of the No2NP coalition, described the Named Person scheme as "the most audacious power grab in the history of parenting".
He added: "Parents are, on the whole, best placed to care and look after their children and where they are not, the State and all of its agencies should focus on helping those people."
The poll surveyed 6120 across the UK earlier this month, with 532 respondents being Scottish.
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