Education Secretary John Swinney will today announce he is to repeal the controversial 'Named Person' laws which were rejected by the Supreme Court two years ago.

The Herald understands he will scrap parts 4 and 5 of the Children and Young People Act of 2014, which provided for a 'named person' to ensure the wellbeing of every young person in Scotland.

The policy was introduced to support the Scottish Government's child protection policy Getting it Right for Every Child (Girfec) and ministers have always maintained it is formalising what is already in place in many parts of the country.

Read more: Admit defeat on named person scheme, Scottish Government urged

However the plan faced an immediate backlash, with opponents warning it would be a 'snooper's charter', and it has faced legal challenges and question marks over resourcing and the workload of health visitors and headteachers - who are expected to be 'named persons' in most cases.

When the Supreme Court ruled on the issue in July 2016, judges declared the law - introduced in the Children and Young People Act of 2014 - was "unquestionably legitimate and benign" in its aims.

However they decided ministers had overstepped their legal competence in the provisions of the law which allowed public authorities to share information about young people.

Since then Mr Swinney has set up an expert panel which was charged with rewriting guidance to make the act compliant with the law and satisfy the concerns of the Supreme Court.

Read more: Swinney urges MSPs to reconsider Named Person bill delay

However the panel reported back to Government last month that redesigned information-sharing guidance was not the right thing to do and it was not possible to come up with workable rules that would be easy for people to understand.

That was followed by renewed calls for Mr Swinney to 'admit defeat' over the troubled legislation. A source told the Herald the education secretary's announcement this afternoon would withdraw the key elements relating to Named Persons.

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.