Meeting of the Parliament 08 June 2016
That intervention characterises why this debate has become what it has become—because Mr Tomkins has fuelled the absurdity of the attacks that were made on the policy. He should be ashamed of his intervention in the debate. [Interruption.]
The named person policy reflects an agenda that has taken notice of what has been said in just about every significant case review, fatal accident inquiry and review into the tragic circumstances of the deaths of children who have been victims of abuse and neglect over the past few decades.
It is not appropriate to judge whether a particular policy would or would not have made a difference in a particular tragedy. However, when we look at the common thread throughout so many of those deaths, as recorded in significant case reviews and fatal accident inquiries, time and time again, reviews have pointed to professionals not sharing information that might have alerted people that something terrible was happening. The named person can—and, I believe, will—help to ensure that the right information is shared at the right time in the right way.
We know that the policy of getting it right for every child works. It has been working in Highland since 2007. Through the named person role, professionals have responded promptly to requests for assistance and families have received more support, more quickly. Between 2007 and 2013, the number of referrals to the children’s reporter in Highland dropped from 2,335 to 744. Over the same period, the number of children on the child protection register in Highland fell from 130 to 80 and social work case loads have been significantly reduced.
Those are the benefits that we want to bring to the whole of Scotland. We have known that for years, and in debate after debate across several parliamentary sessions, we have consistently endorsed the principles of the policy, most recently in December last year.
What has changed now? What has brought us to Parliament today in this context? For one, political expediency has made its unwelcome presence felt in the debate. The Conservatives fought a vitriolic campaign on the issue at the election. They disparaged a sound concept, which was well researched and widely debated, and characterised it as something that it is not. Then they come to Parliament expecting us all to take them seriously when they talk of a “pause” in implementation. The Conservatives are not after reflection; they want repeal—that is what they screamed at us during the election. Parliament should not be fooled by the temporary change in the Tory tone—although not all those on the Tory benches today have changed their tone. [Interruption.]