Meeting of the Parliament 08 June 2016
Scottish Labour supported the principle of the named person scheme when it was legislated for, and we continue to believe that, implemented properly and proportionately, it can improve support and services for children and parents in general, and child welfare and protection in particular.
The best place to look for evidence of that support is where the scheme was developed and first implemented and where it has been longest in place, which is the Highlands and Islands. In recent days, with attention once again focused on the named person—alongside, or sometimes because of, the tragic case of Liam Fee—those in Highland who know and understand the scheme best have spoken out very clearly.
I heard on radio Bill Alexander, director of care and learning for Highland Council, explain very patiently and eloquently the benefits that he had seen. The most important ones were twofold. First, he was very clear that the policy has given his staff more confidence and clarity about their responsibilities and accountability. That has reduced bureaucracy, sped up access to services for children and families, and reduced the escalation of problems in many cases. In particular, he makes the point that it has reduced ad hoc and unnecessary referrals to the children’s reporter as a default option for staff involved. In other words, it has reduced unnecessary and inappropriate intrusive measures, not the reverse. Secondly—and critically—that has reduced, not swamped, the case load of social workers, allowing them to focus more time on the most serious cases, which require significant intervention. Let us not forget that when the system goes catastrophically wrong, it is the lack of intervention that we end up regretting, not the intrusion.
In an article written by Dani Garavelli, Bill Alexander’s views were supported by the health visitors, teachers and social workers on the front line of children’s services in the Highlands. They described exactly the hoped-for benefits that Liz Smith elaborated on when she talked about the policy’s introduction.