Opposition MSPs have been accused of pushing 'misinformation' and 'scaremongering' over the Named Person scheme, the education secretary has said.

John Swinney's comments came in response to a motion by the Scottish Conservatives which called on the scheme to be temporarily "paused".

He said: "The Conservatives fought a vitriolic campaign on this issue at the election. They disparaged a sound concept, well-researched and widely debated, and characterised it as something it is not.

"Then they come to Parliament expecting us all to take them seriously when they talk of a 'pause' to implementation.

"The Conservatives are not after reflection. They want repeal. That is what they screamed at us during the election. Parliament should not be fooled by the temporary change in Tory tone."

Later in a response to the Conservatives' education spokesperson Liz Smith

Later in the debate he added: "I accept that the Government now has work to do to build confidence in this policy, to ensure the guidance is appropriate and to ensure that the public are fully and properly aware of the intentions behind this policy.

"We understand the challenges of communicating this change to the public, not least in a climate thick with misinformation and, frankly, scaremongering.

"The public deserves a considered, transparent presentation of the facts around the named person."

Smith argued the Named Person scheme will lead to "additional paperwork" which will mean vulnerable children get "less attention".

Ms Smith said: "The key point, of course, in all of this is that those professionals feel that the additional burden of paperwork inevitably means that the most vulnerable children will receive less attention than they should. That is not a situation that they want to see."

She continued: "Everybody in this chamber knows, and in the wider public, that the Conservatives have consistently been and remain fundamentally opposed to the named-person policy, but we also believe that we have an obligation to address the practical concerns of professionals and parents about the workability of the policy.

"If that is not dealt with, it could seriously undermine the welfare of children across Scotland. That outcome would be unforgivable."

The scheme was defended by Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green MSPs despite respectively raising issues with certain aspects of it.

Labour MSP Iain Gray criticised the Scottish Conservatives' approach to the scheme.

Gray said: "Their position on named person was clear ... they are against it ... they will get it repealed, scrapped and binned".

The former Labour leader said the Tories had came to Holyrood with a motion which "hides their real purpose behind a pause with no purpose except to allow more debates and presumably more Tory press releases which say something different out there compared to what they say in here."

Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott called for resources and training to be made available for Named Persons.

Scott said: "There must be adequate resources, adequate training is needed.

"This policy asks the named person not to simply judge a child or a young person on the basis of risk but on the assessment of wellbeing.

"Can schools provide the professional development that this policy needs to do in order to work?"

The Scottish Greens' education spokesperson Ross Greer questioned why the Tories chose to raise the issue above all other education policies.

Greer said: "It's disappointing that at a time of attainment gaps, unpopular standardised testing and the possibility of industrial action by teachers, the Conservatives feel that throwing obstacles in the way of important child protection legislation is their top priority in education.

"It is clear that the Scottish Government must embark on a campaign of building public confidence and better explaining what Named Person really means in practice. I am concerned that due to confusion and incorrect assertions, young people may no longer feel confident seeking confidential support and advice.

"Most children are not born at risk, and don't enter nursery or school with an 'at risk' label on their shirt. Often those who are at the most risk are the hardest to identify. This is why a universal scheme is needed".

The scheme will be rolled out across the country on August 31.