Councils which have been piloting the named person scheme have been told to proceed with delivering it, despite aspects being ruled "unlawful".
Education secretary John Swinney told MSPs today that the hated policy will be delayed for a year after Supreme Court judges said elements of it were illegal earlier in the summer. However, despite slamming the brakes on the scheme – which was supposed to be rolled out at the end of August – Mr Swinney has urged local authorities to "please continue to develop and deliver a named person service in your area".
That approach has been blasted by West Scotland MSP Jamie Greene, who has publicly opposed the entire Named Person Scheme.
During a debate in Holyrood last week, the point that was made by Scottish Conservatives that with Mr Swinney announcing a three-month consultation and admitting there are serious issues about the definition of a child’s "wellbeing", it is simply not possible for councils to proceed as they do not know where they stand.
The West Region MSP said " Councils already running the named person scheme are being told to keep on with it – even though elements of it have been ruled unlawful. How can the SNP expect local authorities to continue operating in that way? It’s not clear how the Scottish Government can delay the scheme’s implementation for a year, yet tell those already doing it to continue."
He continued "We will continue to fight against this unnecessary and unpopular policy. Parents want it scrapped, and so do the professionals tasked with implementing it. The SNP has been told in no uncertain terms by the Supreme Court about the merits of this policy, and it’s time nationalists swallowed their pride and listened."
