Child database delayed for review
Updated on 27 November 2007
Ministers are revising their plans for a controversial database containing personal details of every child in the country, the Government announced.
The £224 million ContactPoint database will be delayed by five months while a security review takes place and changes are made to the system.
Children's minister Kevin Brennan said the decision was taken after the lost computer discs scandal that hit HM Revenue and Customs last week.
In a statement to MPs, Mr Brennan said: "Delaying the implementation of ContactPoint will enable the independent assessment of security procedures to take place, as well as address the changes to ContactPoint that potential system users have told us they need."
The announcement means that the database, which was due to begin operation in spring 2008, will not now come into use until next September or October.
Last week, the children's rights director for England, Roger Morgan, warned that youngsters had serious concerns about the safety of the database.
He said children "thought that paedophiles would spend a lot of time and effort trying to break into ContactPoint".
Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have also questioned the wisdom of launching such a system in the wake of the HMRC scandal.
ContactPoint was devised in response to a recommendation from the inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, in order to make it easier to co-ordinate the efforts of different agencies involved in child protection.
It will contain details for each child including their name, address, date of birth, contact details for parents, details of school, doctor and professionals working with the child. The aim is that social workers, doctors and schools will share information on young people to stop children falling into gaps between different services.
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