£10m bid to improve support for families

The move hopes to provide more support for children and families. Picture: Getty

The move is part of the government’s Named Person proposals, minister for children and young people Aileen Campbell said.

Speaking ahead of a debate on the Named Person part of the Children and Young People Bill at Holyrood, Ms Campbell said: “Protecting our children and promoting their wellbeing is of paramount importance and we are committed to getting 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 £10 million 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.”

In support of Getting It Right For Every Child, which includes Named Person, the Scottish Government will provide £398,097 in 2015-16 followed by £9,764,210 in 2016-17.

Getting It Right For Every Child includes Named Person and is the government’s approach to improving the well-being of children, young people and their families.