Scottish Catholic Observer

More than 500 Christians and non-Christians alike gathered in Edinburgh on Monday to oppose the Scottish Government’s controversial Named Person scheme as opponents claimed it affected ‘core Christian principles.’

At the ‘Named Persons: Doomed… or Just delayed?’ conference, held in Edinburgh’s John McIntyre Conference Centre, a number of experts slated the law, whose enforcement has been postponed after the UK Supreme Court found parts of it to be unlawful.

Speakers at the event included leading human rights lawyer Aidan O’Neill QC; Maggie Mellon, an independent social work consultant; Stuart Waiton, a lecturer in sociology and criminology at Abertay University; Sam Webster, solicitor advocate for The Christian Institute; journalist Kevin McKenna; former deputy leader of the SNP Jim Sillars; Lesley Scott from the Tymes Trust; and Alison Preuss, founder of the Scottish Home Education Forums.

Dr Waiton described the Named Person scheme as undermining ‘families and the idea of family and the idea of privacy,’ while Sam Webster noted that for Christian families, ‘this judgment affects those core principles’ of Christians throughout the ages: that the proper people to raise children are their parents.

Experienced social worker Maggie Mellon spoke about the proposed law undermining the importance of family, claiming the scheme to be ‘a confirmation that the state had claimed, or was claiming, family life as part of its legitimate domain, to regulate and prescribe how children should be brought up.’

“It doesn’t matter if that is regulating from the left, or from the right, or from any other political perspective: it’s just wrong,” she said. “Families—like love and care and affection—were not invented by governments and they don’t belong to governments. Families are mostly a good thing and they are not hotbeds of risk and harm. Children being harmed in their families isn’t the norm; it’s the exception that proves the rule that families are good, safe places. That rule is that families are the safest and best way that we know, that the human race has come up with, to bring children up in.”

The scheme would see every child in Scotland allocated a ‘named person’— likely to be a midwife, health visitor, headteacher, deputy headteacher or guidance teacher—who would ‘listen and advise’ the young person and their family, as well as offering direct support and access to other services, and would be responsible for helping families address any concerns as quickly as possible.

Earlier this month, John Swinney, Deputy First Minister, spoke in parliament on government plans to ensure ‘consistency, clarity and coherence’ in regards to the proposed law.

“As the Deputy First Minister has made clear to parliament, the Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to the Named Person service as a way to support children and young people by working in partnership with them and with families,” a spokesperson said on behalf of the Scottish Government. “It ensures early support is available for all families because it is simply impossible to predict if or when people might need extra help.”