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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 9 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”.