Vast databases ‘no longer the answer to social work failures’
Rosemary Bennett, writing in the Times, comments on the advisability of the ContactPoint database:
But big databases are now distinctly out of fashion. The loss of many big data sets has destroyed public confidence that vast amounts of information should be held together.
Five million child benefit records, unencrypted data sticks containing details of 84,000 prisoners and information on three million learner drivers have all disappeared in the past two years. There are simply too many doubts about security for the public to have faith in this ContactPoint project, despite government assurances about PINs and passwords.
That is not all that has changed. Voters are questioning why all this information is needed in the first place. The Government has still to make a compelling case for identity cards, flitting from cutting illegal immigration to ending NHS tourism to cracking down on terrorism.
