Engagement to implement named person

A three month period of engagement on the named person service will begin immediately, Deputy First Minister John Swinney confirmed in Parliament today.

The Scottish Government will gather input from practitioners undertaking the named person role, parents, charities, young people, those who support the policy and those with concerns. The Children’s Commissioner and the Information Commissioner will also be involved in discussions.

The engagement plan is part of the Scottish Government’s wider work towards an intended commencement date of the service in August 2017.

Mr Swinney said:

“As a Parliament we have made significant progress on the GIRFEC agenda. That progress has been enabled and facilitated by cross-party consensus on what is important and how improvements to the life chances of Scotland’s children and young people can be achieved.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, this Government remains absolutely committed to the named person service. The Supreme Court judgment does not dilute our commitment but it has required us to revise part of the legislation to ensure that it is compatible with the ECHR.

“I am keen to commence the provisions of this Act as early as possible. However I am also keen to pursue an inclusive approach – one that takes this Parliament, stakeholders and the wider public with it.

“The Supreme Court judgment provides us with an opportunity to amend the information sharing provisions in the 2014 Act in a way that improves the named person service and reassures parents and practitioners and the wider public. It provides us with the opportunity to continue in the spirit of shared purpose and consensus – to getting it right for every child.”

Following the three month engagement work, Mr Swinney will return to Parliament and outline the next steps to amend the information sharing provisions of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.