MSPs are set to have another vote on the Scottish Government’s Named Person plans, after John Swinney announced new legislation on how information on children should be shared in a bid to comply with last year’s UK Supreme Court ruling.

The scheme, which effectively app- oints a single point of contact, such as a teacher or health visitor, to look out for the welfare of every child until he or she reaches the age of 18, was due to come into force later this year.

The policy has broad support from just about every children’s charity in the country and when Holyrood debated the plans first time round there was cross-party support, with not one MSP voting against.

A group of determined, well-funded campaigners with links to fundamental Christian groups have vehemently opposed the proposals, taking the Government to court.

MSP will debate Swinney’s new proposals before the end of June, which means the earliest the scheme can take effect is now 2018.

The Supreme Court judges ruled that parts of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 were “incompatible’’ with the right to privacy and family life as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, they said the aim of the policy was legitimate.

The Education Secretary said the Government remained committed the to policy.

Swinney told Parliament yesterday the court ruling would require “Named Person service providers and others involved with children and young people to consider whether sharing information would promote, support or safeguard the wellbeing of the child or young person”.

They will also have to consider whether sharing information would be compatible with data protection law, human rights and the law of confidentiality, he added. Swinney continued: “Only if information can be shared consistently within these legal constraints will there be a power to share it and the legislation will make this clear.”

In a statement to Parliament, he stressed the Scottish Government was still “absolutely committed” to the policy.

Swinney insisted: “This Government listened to parents. The Named Person service provides a point of contact and support who works in partnership with parents and families to help them navigate the wider system.

“Parents told us they don’t always get the support their families need, and they have to tell their stories over and over.

“Parents also told us they want the Named Person service to work in partnership with them and that having a say in the sharing of information about their families matters to them.”

New guidance will also be drawn up which will “assist practitioners to take a systematic approach on information sharing in appropriate cases”, Swinney said.

He went on: “The approach I have set out today seeks to bring consistency, clarity and coherence to the practice of sharing information about children and young people’s wellbeing across Scotland.”

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said every opinion poll had suggested the service was not wanted. She asked why the Government had not decided to abandon the proposals.

Swinney replied that the Government had been elected on its policy commitments, and said Holyrood had previously voted in favour of a Named Person system so he was “duty bound” to deliver one. Labour’s Iain Gray called on Swinney to exempt 16 and 17-year-olds from the scheme. Swinney said this was not an easy issue to resolve, and the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child included young people up to the age of 18.

Speaking after the debate, Ross Greer from the Scottish Greens said: “Providing a single point of contact to ensure protection and support for all children is a sound principle.

“Sensitivities around information sharing must be addressed, and I’m glad that since last summer’s court judgment, the Scottish Government has consulted with 250 relevant organisations.

The Deputy First Minister also hit out at the “misinformation” about the Named Person scheme and said there would be a public information campaign to make sure children, young people and parents know their rights.

That was clearly a dig at the No2NP group, a coalition which includes the Christian Institute, Care (Christian Action Research and Education) and the Family Education Trust, who have chased the plan through the courts.

Their spokesman Simon Calvert said Swinney’s announcement had signalled a “major climbdown by the Scottish Government” and a “major victory” for campaigners.

He said: “Mr Swinney says he wants to assure families that their rights are ‘fully respected’. Today’s announcement is a start. But the Government has spent years training practitioners in the public and private sector to share data at a much lower threshold than ‘risk of harm’.”

Barnados Scotland tweeted: “We welcome @JohnSwinney’s announcement this afternoon that @ScotGov are a step closer to implementation of Named Person policy.”