Joint working - ContactPoint hangs in electoral limbo
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
With a general election looming, the future of ContactPoint is under threat. Neil Puffett investigates what could replace it.
As far as long-term political projects go, it appears the days of the government's controversial database ContactPoint might be numbered.
An opinion poll at the end of last month placed Labour a massive 17 points behind the Conservatives, who have pledged to scrap the system should they come to power.
While a Conservative victory at the next election is far from a foregone conclusion, many practitioners working with children will be wondering what would replace ContactPoint and how it may affect them.
So what are the alternatives?
In September last year, the Conservatives' shadow children's secretary Michael Gove proposed better data sharing between key local professionals and the use of small, targeted databases.
Signposting database
The following month, Tim Loughton, shadow minister for children, suggested that ContactPoint could be replaced by a system protecting only the vulnerable - those in care, on the child protection register or with backgrounds of domestic violence.
This "national signposting database", as Loughton dubs it, will contain fewer details on individual children than ContactPoint, but will direct practitioners to other professionals who have dealt with the same child in the past.
The numbers of children whose details would be stored on such a system would probably be in the hundreds of thousands, a fraction of the 11 million or so set to feature on ContactPoint.
One fear for practitioners will be that after spending time preparing and training for ContactPoint, the introduction of a new system will mean upheaval and more work in terms of preparation and training.
However, Loughton argues that this will not be the case.
A smoother transition
"I think it will be a smoother transition than the one to this system (ContactPoint), which has been fraught with problems," he says.
"I have found no enthusiasm for ContactPoint at all on the front line, and I think that there is going to be a huge sigh of relief from practitioners at the sharp end when we change things."
Loughton adds that the existing ContactPoint infrastructure may not be entirely wasted, as its component parts will be assessed to see if they can make up part of a new system.
"We would put the brakes on straight after the election and then see how we close it down or adapt it," he says.
"We would need to look at whether any of the framework can be adapted to a national signposting database. We are not going to completely scrap the whole thing."
Hung parliament
Should the winning party fail to secure an overall majority at the next election, the Liberal Democrat stance on the issue could also play an important role in deciding future government policy.
The Lib Dems' opposition to ContactPoint runs even deeper than the Tories', and some of their ideas could influence policy direction in the event of a hung parliament.
They want to halt the database immediately prior to a "relatively short" consultation period during which alternative measures are settled on. An early idea is that annual running costs for ContactPoint, estimated to come in at about £40m, will be used to give social workers more administrative and technical support. This would give social workers more time to work with children and their families.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are also keen to explore the potential for technology, such as personal handheld devices, to make work easier for practitioners.
Existing systems
Annette Brooke, shadow children's minister for the Liberal Democrats, says many local authorities already had data sharing systems in place before ContactPoint was set up. She argues that these systems may allow sufficient data sharing for child protection purposes but it will be important to discuss the make-up of any new system with local authorities to get frontline input.
"We have got to work with local authorities on the best ways of sharing information and talking to each other," she says.
Despite apparent strong opposition to ContactPoint, the government maintains it has the support of key players in the sector.
A number of early-adopter authorities in the North West, as well as the charities Barnardo's and Kids, are already piloting ContactPoint ahead of a national rollout planned for later this year.
Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's, concedes there will probably be a change of government at the next election but does not believe that will necessarily seal the fate of ContactPoint.
"I expect if the Conservatives come to power they will probably assess ContactPoint, and my guess is that when they take account of the mass of investment that has already been made they may well be persuaded to retain it," he says. "If it were demolished I think it would be a very dangerous step. It would be political folly and could put children in greater danger - I don't believe Michael Gove would do that."
CONTACTPOINT IN NUMBERS
12/1 - odds on Labour winning an overall majority at the next election
£224m - total cost of ContactPoint
5 million - estimated hours per year of practitioner time that will be saved from use of ContactPoint
17 - local authorities in the North West piloting the system
Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families and Paddypower.com
EXPERTS' VIEWS
Martin Narey, chief executive of Barnardo's, believes the Conservatives might not scrap ContactPoint if they come to power, as that would be "political folly".
He feels the system will already be established by then, and the pragmatic approach would not be to set aside a database that helps practitioners protect children, only to replace it with something that is untested.
Dave Munday, professional officer at Unite, says scrapping ContactPoint would not have a dramatic effect on health visitors since the majority have not yet been trained to use the system. But he fears getting rid of it could prove problematic because a replacement would take a significant amount of time to develop.
"The consultation and discussion for ContactPoint has been going on for a number of years with a lot of input from government and stakeholders," he says. "ContactPoint is a chance to make things a lot better than they are currently."
Sir William Utting, former chief inspector of social services, says he is not closed to the idea of an alternative but feels there are questions that need to be answered before ContactPoint could be scrapped.
"From my perspective, it is important to keep politics out of it and concentrate on what's likely to be the most efficient and best system," he says.