Tory plans to scrap ContactPoint will not delay rollout
Neil Puffett
Monday, June 22, 2009
Councils will not stall on rolling out ContactPoint even though a Conservative government would dump the controversial children's database, it has been claimed.
The long-term future of the system, which cost £224m to develop, is in doubt after the Conservatives revealed they would scrap it should the party come to power at the next general election.
But Conservative councillor Les Lawrence, chair of the Local Government Association's children and young people's board, said the Conservative policy would not affect the way councils approach the rollout.
He said: "All local authorities work on the basis of ensuring they work within the law.To act outside that would be to hold the current elected government in contempt.
"In that sense they will fulfil the letter of the law, whether every single authority fulfils the spirit is a matter of conjecture."
Lawrence added that a number of authorities do have concerns around the security of children's information in the system.
Liverpool City Council has written to the government seeking assurances on a number of issues. A spokesman for the council said the authority will continue to adopt the system but is concerned about possible civil liberty implications.
These include the security of the information held in the database and whether parents and schools are fully aware of the system's introduction.
ContactPoint was created in response to Lord Laming's inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié. Professionals working with children are currently undergoing training to enable them to use the online database holding the details of every child in England.
A number of early adopter authorities, as well as the charities Barnardo's and Kids, are already ahead of a national rollout planned for later this year.