Resources
Includes written legal advice from a top QC, evidence from opponents of the Named Person scheme, and the Government’s own explanation of its plans.
Guide to meeting your MSPs
A handy guide to help you meet your MSP about the Named Person scheme.
Parents’ guide to the Named Person scheme
A handy guide for parents about how things stand following last year’s Supreme Court ruling on the Named Person scheme.
Videos: Named Persons: Doomed… or just delayed?
Watch talks from the NO2NP event, Named Persons: Doomed… or just delayed? which took place in Edinburgh on 20th March 2017.
Answers to common arguments
NO2NP gives answers to common arguments about the Named Person scheme.
Clan Childlaw – intervention in judicial review
A charity that gives legal help to children and young people in Scotland explains why it has applied to intervene in the judicial review proceedings regarding the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014.
Aidan O’Neill QC
– Legal opinion
Written legal advice from top human rights expert Aidan O’Neill QC, questioning whether the Named Person scheme is lawful. He comments that the proposal “appears to be predicated on the idea that the proper primary relationship that children will have for their well-being and development, nurturing and education is with the State rather than within their families and with their parents”.
Faculty of Advocates
– Submission
The Faculty of Advocates described the Named Person proposals as a plan which “undermines family autonomy”, “dilutes the legal role of parents”, and could provide a platform for interference with private and family life.
Dr Stuart Waiton
– Submission
In his submission to the Education and Culture Committee, sociologist Dr Stuart Waiton comments on the change in society’s attitude towards parenting and how the issue of parenting has become “problematised” and seen as something that requires “expert intervention”.
BAAF – Submission
The British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) submission to the Education and Culture Committee highlighted that the universality of the Named Person provision “may get in the way of ensuring that those who really need support actually receive it” (para. 9).
Church of Scotland
– Submission
This evidence from the Church of Scotland criticises the Named Person proposals because of the potential for a “general diminishing of parental responsibilities” and warns that the scheme may in fact be “counterproductive” to helping the children who need it most (para. 7).
Law Society – Submission
The Law Society of Scotland told the Education and Culture Committee in this evidence that the Named Person proposals run the “risk of diverting services” from those who are most vulnerable and “could be interpreted as disproportionate state interference”.
Scottish Parent Teacher Council – Submission
The concept of a named person is “ill thought through”, said the Scottish Parent Teacher Council (SPTC) in its submission to the Education and Culture Committee. The SPTC said the plan “seeks to usurp the role of the parent” and potentially draws families into the system unnecessarily.
Tristram Llewellyn Jones
– Submission
Tristram Llewellyn Jones pointed out the failings of a similar scheme on the Isle of Man, noting the increase in referrals to children’s social services and the danger of intruding into family life. He said the Named Person scheme puts families “under the microscope of a universal surveillance policy”.
Scottish Government “wellbeing” hub
The Scottish Government’s explanation of the Named Person scheme, including the part Named Persons are to play in the Getting it right for every child (“GIRFEC”) approach.
CARE – submission
In its evidence to the Education and Culture Committee, CARE noted that the Named Person provision “reflects an ideological view which denies the primacy of parental authority in relation to child rearing” and expressed concern that children are viewed “essentially as the property of the state” (para. 11).
Scottish Government guidance
Email sent by the Scottish Government’s Deputy Director for Children’s Rights and Wellbeing on 3 June 2014 about implementation of Act establishing the Named Person scheme.
NO2NP Newsletter: Summer 2015
This is the first NO2NP Newsletter and gives an overview of the campaign so far and key developments regarding the Named Person scheme.
11 Reasons To Say NO To The Named Person Scheme
This short leaflet sets out 11 key reasons why so many across Scotland are saying NO to the Named Person Scheme.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The scheme will have to change following the recent ruling of the Supreme Court that its central data-sharing provisions are illegal. The leaflet will be updated if a new version of the scheme is submitted.
Briefing from The
Christian Institute
This Christian Institute briefing provides a background to the flawed Named Person concept and outlines concerns about the impact of the blanket proposals. The briefing points out the “enormous scope for unnecessary and unwanted interference in the lives of ordinary families” and highlights lessons to be learned from the Highlands, Orkney and the Isle of Man.
Videos: NO2NP Campaign Launch Conference Talks
Watch conference talks from the NO2NP launch event, which took place in Edinburgh on 9th June 2014.