Lost discs inquiry delays child register
Graeme Paton writes in the Telegraph:
A database listing every child in England will be delayed amid fresh concerns over security, the Government said yesterday.
The register – containing the address, medical and school details of all those under 18 – is to be suspended for five months while a security review is held and changes are made to the system.
Kevin Brennan, the children’s minister, said the decision was taken after the lost computer discs scandal at HM Revenue and Customs last week.
In a statement to MPs, he said new checks would be made to ensure the system – ContactPoint – had the correct security procedures.
The disclosure was backed by the Conservatives who said the Government should now consider making further changes, including limits on the number of children covered.
ContactPoint will contain details of all 11 million children in England and is to be made available to an estimated 330,000 vetted users, including doctors and social service workers.
November 29th, 2007 at 18:18
[...] ContactPoint delayed ContactPoint, another of NuLabour’s database panaceas, has been delayed to allow “security procedures” to be reviewed in the wake of the HMRC data [...]