WIREDGOV

Scottish Government will provide £10 million for local councils.

The Scottish Government’s Named Person proposals will improve support available to children and families who need it by fully funding local councils with £10 million of investment, the Minister for Children and Young People Aileen Campbell said today.

Speaking ahead of a debate on the Named Person part of the Children and Young People Bill, Ms Campbell said:

“Protecting our children and promoting their well-being is of paramount importance and we are committed to get it right for every child in Scotland.

“Our Children and Young People Bill is designed to help parents and children where concerns emerge around their development or wellbeing and give families a go to person who will co-ordinate the help and support they need. This builds upon successful pilots already working in several areas across Scotland.

“The Named Person proposals in our Bill are keenly supported by leading children’s charities and parents themselves. The charities have said that they “see an effective named person role as an important part of making ‘Getting it right for every child’ a reality, and believe it is a crucial element of the forthcoming Bill”. That is an important endorsement but we are always open to further improvements and we will continue to work constructively with all Parliamentarians while our Bill is scrutinised.

“We have committed to investing more than £10m in local councils over two years from 2015 to 2017 to implement the Named Person provisions, once the Bill has passed. This comes on top of the £7.8 million already invested by Scottish Government in implementing the new approach.

“Our investment will widen the rollout of Named Person to enable all councils beyond the existing pilot areas to reshape existing systems and put models in place that will make lasting change. We will then continue to work with COSLA to closely monitor the resources needed across Scotland."

Notes to editors

As outlined in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the Children and Young People Bill, the Scottish Government will provide £398,097 in 2015-16 and £9,764,210 in 2016-17 to assist with the implementation of Getting It Right For Every Child, which includes Named Person.