Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

No to Named Persons campaign rolls into Perth to hold public rally

Conservative MSP Liz Smith will be one of the main speakers.
Conservative MSP Liz Smith will be one of the main speakers.

Opponents of plans to appoint a “named person” for every child in Scotland will hold a rally in Perth.

The contentious measure, which assigns a single point of contact, such as a teacher or health visitor, to look out for under-18s, is already being piloted.

But the No To Named Persons (NO2NP) coalition claimed the policy breaches data protection and human rights laws.

Campaigners say Tuesday night’s meeting in Perth will apply extra pressure ahead of an appeal hearing against at the Supreme Court in London.

Tory MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife Liz Smith will be among the main speakers at the gathering in the city’s Salutation Hotel.

She said: “It is very clear that the named person policy is not only deeply unpopular with the vast majority of parents across Scotland, but it is also unnecessary and will take vital resources away from the most vulnerable children who need the most help.

“The key issue for most families is the fact that it undermines trust in the family unit and implies that the state rather than the parents know best how to raise children.

“This is clearly unacceptable.”

The NO2NP campaign is taking its fight to the Supreme Court after losing a legal battle at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Judges dismissed the group’s arguments as “hyperbole”.

The Scottish Government said the policy would act as a safety net to help families and children if they need it, to speed things up and avoid families having to speak to numerous different services.

The NO2NP is an umbrella organisation led by the Christian Institute and backed by the charity Christian Action Research and Education (Care) and the Family Education Trust.

A spokesman said the move will “undermine parental authority” and “allow state officials unprecedented powers to interfere with family life”.

He added: “These meetings will give ordinary mums and dads the opportunity to come along and hear the real risks this ‘Big Brother’ legislation poses to family life and let them know why so many people are saying No To Named Person.”

The open Perth meeting will be held at the city’s Salutation Hotel, South Street, from 7.30pm.