Almost two-thirds of Scots believe plans to plans to introduce a 'Named Person' for every child in the country represent an "unacceptable intrusion" into family life, according to a poll.
In a Survation poll commissioned by the Scottish Daily Mail, 64% of 1,024 adults think the scheme – which will appoint a state guardian to every child under 18 – is intrusive. In comparison, only 18.5% thought the scheme was not intrusive.
This state guardian has responsibility to monitor the child's welfare and raise concerns, and also has access to medical and other confidential information about the child.
More than half (54%) of those who voted SNP in last month’s Holyrood elections thought the policy was intrusive, rising to 65% among Liberal Democrat supporters, 66% among Labour and 85% of Conservative voters.
Holyrood debate
The survey's publication comes just ahead of a Holyrood debate on the issue on Wednesday 8 June, where the Scottish Conservatives will renew calls for the scheme, which has already been rolled out in parts of Scotland and is planned to come into full effect this August, to be paused.
The party opposed the policy during the election campaign, also describing it as an "unacceptable intrusion into family life".
Writing for Conservative Home, Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, adds that while the scheme is borne of entirely laudable aims, it could divert attention from those children and cases that truly need support.
The tragic case of Liam Fee
Last week the tragic death of toddler Liam Fee led both the public and commentators to ask whether the ‘Named Person’ scheme failed to protect the child.
Two-year-old Liam was violently murdered by his mother and her same-sex civil partner despite living in Fife, one of the leading pilot areas of the scheme, and being on the radar of social services and the police.
Questions have been raised over the schemes effectiveness, after a senior social worker admitted at Liam’s trial that he fell off the radar.
The Scottish Daily Mail quoted children’s charity leader Laurie Matthew, who said: "If there are not enough resources to properly see to children like Liam, why on earth are we adding every other child in Scotland into the pot?"
An editorial in The Times stated: "It seems a reasonable question to ask as we try to ensure there are no more deaths like the one suffered by Liam Fee: shouldn’t social workers be left to deal with the cases that cause concern? Shouldn’t they be helped to get a proper grip of them, rather than be deluged with new information about the vast majority of children who are brought up in a loving home? Are we in danger of making social workers’ jobs even harder?"
It adds: "All children in Scotland who, since the turn of the century, have died at the hands of those who were meant to be caring for them, not one was unknown to social services. All were in the system."
The No to Named Persons (NO2NP) coalition, which is involved in an ongoing legal challenge against the scheme, questioned if "this universal scheme got in the way of the kind of targeted intervention we all wish had been used to save his life".
The No2NP coalition believes the scheme undermines the role of parents and puts children at risk of overbearing state interference.
Related Links:
Pupils' home life to be state-monitored under 'Named Person' scheme
Scottish National Party makes false claims about 'Named Person' scheme
Poll reveals majority oppose intrusive 'Named Person' scheme
Unprotected Children (Times £)
Tough questions for 'named person' scheme, following tragic Liam Fee murder (No2NP)
Poll: 64% of Scots think Named Person is 'unacceptable intrusion' (Scotsman)
Ruth Davidson: The Scottish Government must think again on its flawed Named Persons scheme (Conservative Home)