ContactPoint launches after months of delays

Two officials from every local authority in England are to start basic training to use the £224m system, while staff in 17 authorities will embark on more advanced preparation.

Practitioners in early adopter authorities will start using the system in the spring and the remaining councils will use the database from the summer.

Children's charities Barnardo's and Kids are also piloting the information-sharing database and will start using it at the same time as the early adopter authorities.

The controversial database has been dogged by criticism since its inception, but the government today promised that ContactPoint records will not hold case details and will be impossible to download.

The database will also prevent users from trawling for records.

Vulnerable children, including victims of domestic violence and children in witness protection programmes, will have their records shielded, meaning that officials will have to apply for a special warrant to view their contact details.

However, children of celebrities and politicians will not usually be provided with shielding, Children's Minister Delyth Morgan said today.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls said: "We have seen from recent serious case reviews that the lack of proper and timely information sharing can have tragic consequences. No system can ever guarantee that all children will be safe but we know ContactPoint will make a real difference." 

Kevin Williams, chief executive of Kids, said: "We see ContactPoint as being very beneficial for disabled children who typically have a range of professionals working with them.."

But Terri Dowty, director of Action on Rights for Children, said she is extremely concerned that ContactPoint will put vulnerable children at risk.

She said: "This database should not be happening considering the amount of security breaches caused by central and local government."

ContactPoint is an online directory of basic contact information for all children. It will contain the name, address, date of birth, GP and school of every child in the country and the name and contact details of any professional working with that child.