Tory pleas to build cross party coalition against named person to be rejected

Despite opposing the named person outright, the Conservatives called for a pause rather than full repeal in a deliberate attempt to win support of other opposition parties and inflict an embarrassing defeat on the minority SNP administration.

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However, sources within both Labour and the Greens indicated that they would refuse to back the Tory motion, and accused Ruth Davidson's party of cynically politicising the issue.

It comes after a new poll revealed strong opposition to the named person, a state-appointed figure who will be assigned to look out for the welfare of everyone aged under 18 in Scotland. The Survation survey revealed that almost two thirds agreed that assigning a named person to every child, regardless of whether they are vulnerable or not, amounted to "an unacceptable intrusion into family life."

Labour, despite calling for a pause in implementation during the Holyrood election campaign, will not back the Tory motion. Sources said Labour's proposed review by the Children's Commissioner designed to reassure parents was crucial to its position, but was lacking from Ms Smith's call.

The insider said: "This feels grubby and cynical to us. The Tories should stick to their guns, as we did with fracking and tax when we put forward our position and didn't try to make things easier for other parties.

"The Tories are playing the most horrific politics with this, they have backtracked on their own position and attempted to adopt ours, and didn't even get that right."

Meanwhile, a senior source within the Scottish Greens said that its six MSPs are "highly likely" to vote against the motion, adding: "The Tories have stirred up the concerns and confusion they cite."

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It leaves the Conservatives well short of the necessary support needed to win the backing of parliament. Labour may yet table its own amendment, while the Liberal Democrats are understood to be yet to decide on a course of action.

Ms Sturgeon has indicated that she will push ahead with full implementation of the named person scheme, due to be rolled out nationwide on August 31. The controversy has reignited following the convictions of Rachel Fee and her partner Nyomi Fee for the murder of toddler Liam Fee. The two-year-old was killed at the family's home in Fife, one of the areas which is piloting the initiative.

A named person, normally a health visitor for very young children and a teacher for those of school age, will have powers to share information with other agencies without consent of children or their parents and are intended to act as a "point of contact" for advice or concern about a child. They will not have powers to force a child or family to do anything, although parents will not be allowed to opt out of the scheme.

Ms Smith said tomorrow's debate is "not about whether or not members support the principles of named person policy." She added: "Instead, it is about whether it is deliverable in the proposed format and, most especially, whether that format is in the best interests of children and families. That should be the key point at the forefront of all our minds.

"The Scottish Conservatives believe there is growing parliamentary consensus for a major rethink. We are deliberately steering clear in this particular debate of making the case to oppose the named person policy, although the Scottish Conservatives will continue to do so.

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"This is because we believe there is an urgent need to address the practical concerns of professionals and parents about the workability of the policy which, if it is not dealt with, could seriously undermine the welfare of children across Scotland. That outcome would be unforgiveable, hence the reason why we are asking parliament to support our motion."