Meeting of the Parliament 02 December 2015
I think that some teachers in our schools might take great exception to what the cabinet secretary has just said. They are professionals who are trained to do their job.
The Scottish National Party is very quick to tell us that it whole-heartedly espouses a liberal democratic tradition and that it wants to do more to increase our personal freedoms by promoting greater equality and social justice, but its policies on young people have become increasingly paternalistic and oriented towards the role of the state. The named person policy is the prime example of pushing the boundaries of the state too far.
The rights of children do not stand in isolation—that point was made by Alasdair Allan at the Education and Culture Committee meeting yesterday—but should be seen in the context of the rights of parents and families. The responsibilities of those families must articulate with the needs of all the individuals in those families. Expecting all children to have a named person is an assault on the responsibility of families and parents for whom there are no problems—which is exactly why 74 per cent of parents who were surveyed by the Scottish Parent Teacher Council argued that there is no need for a named person.
Last year, the Scottish Government made huge play of the fact that 16 and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote. We entirely agree with that. If they are old enough and mature enough to vote, and old enough to marry and fight for their country, why must they also have a named person, and why must a young 17 or 18-year-old couple with a child have three named persons for that family?
I rest my case on the fact that the policy has two fundamental problems: it will take resources away from our most vulnerable children, which is inexcusable, and it is completely against the trust and responsibility that parents and families deserve.
I move,
That the Parliament believes that the growing opposition to the Scottish Government’s named person policy reflects the strong criticism that has been levelled at the policy by professionals who will be at the front line of delivery when named persons for all 0 to 18-year-olds become part of statutory legislation from August 2016; is specifically concerned about the criticism from groups of parents who fear that named persons will undermine the trust between parent and child and between families and key professionals, from other groups, such as teachers and social workers, that believe that extensive costs and bureaucracy will be involved in the implementation of the policy, and within bodies such as the police, who stated in summer 2015 that the policy could potentially divert resources away from the most vulnerable children, and calls on the Scottish Government to publish all the advice that it received from the committee that was set up to oversee the implementation stages.
14:54