Labour calls for 16 to 18 years olds to be removed from Named Person plan

credit - Holyrood

THE Scottish Government has been urged by Labour to remove teenagers aged 16 to 18 from its Named Person plan.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has already stated the government’s intention to make changes to the legislation after parts of it were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.

However, Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray has said that including teenagers who are old enough to vote and get married seems “absurd” to many.

RELATED CONTENT 

Government to press ahead with Named Person law despite court ruling against it

Ministers face calls to respond swiftly to court ruling against Named Person law

Gray claimed this had undermined confidence in the plan to have a named person – generally a teacher or health visitor – for every child in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is seeking to clarify details of the scheme in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that the legislation, as it was passed by Holyrood, is “incompatible’’ with European human rights laws and would need to be amended to proceed.

Gray said the legal setback presented ministers with a chance to “get the legislation right and restore public confidence” as he insisted appointing a named person for youngsters aged between 16 and 18 was the “wrong decision”.

The Labour MSP has now written to Swinney, who is also Scotland’s Education Secretary, saying that as the Supreme Court had “effectively forced” a pause in the legislation – which was due to be rolled out across Scotland at the end of this month.

Gray said that Swinney should “take this chance to address wider problems” in it.

In his letter, Gray said the government had the chance to “show that you understand public concerns, and are listening to them, by going further than the court judgement requires”.

Gray told Swinney: “As you will have to amend the legislation, you should use the opportunity to remove 16- to 18-year-olds from the scheme.

“The extension of the law to young people already considered adult enough to leave school, work, vote and marry seems disproportionate and, to many, absurd.”

However, the Scottish Government has said that all under 18s were considered children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Clearly we are considering our detailed response to the court ruling.

“However, the named person service is intended to provide a central point of contact for parents and children from birth up to 18, which is in line with United Nations legislation which classifies children as young people under the age of 18.

"While some families may not wish to use the service, the legislation passed by parliament would provide a legal guarantee of access to a ‘named person’ to ensure the child and their parents/carers can receive appropriate support if and when they need it.”

The government spokeswoman added: “The Supreme Court has stated that the aim of the legislation, in promoting and safeguarding the wellbeing of children and young people, is ‘unquestionably legitimate and benign'.”