Named Person: plenty of misinformation is still available

The National has put out an article: Your questions about the Named Person scheme answered by the Scottish Government. The only thing it has to say about data sharing is that it must be compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998. But that is enough to make you wonder why the Scottish Government hasn`t scrapped the whole idea.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/your-questions-about-the-named-person-scheme-answered-by-the-scottish-government.20911

Then there`s the literature and here`s an example that turned up on Twitter: [Accessed 8 August 2016]

 

 

If you go on to the Scottish Government`s website and click Frequently asked questions there is a booklet called Getting it Right for Every Child: Supporting Children & Young People.

 

Points 17 and 18 are noteworthy.

 

 

This is information still being put out on the web for the public which flies in the face of the Supreme Court judgment.

No, you cannot require organisations or professionals like GPs or early years workers to share information with a Named Person if they are concerned about a child`s or young person`s wellbeing.

Current data protection and privacy laws do not permit information to be shared without consent when it is necessary to prevent or address a risk to wellbeing.

 No tweaking of the legislation can stitch this wellbeing and data sharing nonsense back together again. So here`s some advice for the Scottish Government.

Bin it. Remember that, for many people, the lack of urgency to get this right, the contradictory articles and confusing materials appearing every other day, is both bewildering and frightening.

And do apologise to the children of Scotland for getting it so wrong.

See https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2015-0216.html