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Keeping you up to date on the progress of the Named Person scheme and the NO2NP campaign.
NO2NP roadshow visits Stirling
Posted 10 years ago
The No to Named Persons (NO2NP) roadshow arrived in Stirling on Friday 29th August for the third instalment of the current tour.
The lunch time meeting, held in a city centre hotel, was once again well attended and included a feisty and informative question and answer session with the speakers.
In the chair was Dundee-based sociologist, Dr Stuart Waiton, who told the audience: “To have a universal provision seems very problematic to me.”
As in Dundee two nights earlier, the subject of the controversial child wellbeing surveys being conducted in three Scottish local authorities – known as ‘ChildrenCount’ – was raised. Alison Preuss of Schoolhouse, the home education group who are backing NO2NP, said: “It’s not about child protection. It’s about gathering information.”
The main speaker was Liz Smith MSP, who represents Mid Scotland & Fife (which includes Stirling) at Holyrood. She told the audience: “I am fundamentally opposed to this named person policy. It is morally wrong. There is this assumption that you can’t be trusted. I find this deeply unnerving.”
The meeting also heard from Falkirk-based father of four, James McIntosh, who was recently told by the local health board, NHS Forth Valley, that a named person had already been allocated for his children – albeit he was never informed who the named person actually was. Mr McIntosh said: “One size fits all doesn’t work…In the Bill there isn’t a single mention of the parent”.