Children's minister sets out ICS improvements for councils

The letter, which sets out the government's attempt to improve local children's services computer databases, also confirms that local authorities will no longer be required to meet all national specifications.

The step has been taken as a response to Lord Laming's review of child protection, published in March, which identified that local IT systems used to record cases were "hampering progress".

Following Laming's review, the Social Work Taskforce was asked to look at the effectiveness of the Integrated Children's System (ICS) and last month, in its first report, called for the ICS to be reformed to better support record-keeping and case management by simplifying national requirements and strengthening local authority ownership of the system.

A Local Government Association spokesman said: "The investment to support keeping children safe is welcome and must be used to ensure systems locally are configured to be usable so frontline practice can be promoted."

Other measures outlined in the letter include an offer to help to commission systems that meet local needs and the appointment of a single person to ensure the improvements are effective.

Chair of the taskforce Moira Gibb said: "It is now critical that local authorities grasp the opportunity to reduce the burden on practitioners by ensuring their systems are fit for purpose."

Kim Bromley-Derry, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said: "Increased local flexibility, the involvement of front-line professionals and a renewed focus on making IT systems work will all help to ensure systems are more suited to the nature of social work, while ensuring that statutory recording requirements are met."