Safety fears over child database

The government said no case details would be included

Senior social workers have warned that a database designed to protect children in England could be exploited by paedophiles, a newspaper has reported.

The £224m Contact Point System will contain details of the 11m children in the country. It goes live next year.

But the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has outlined "significant" concerns, The Times said.

However, the Department for Children, Schools and Families insisted the system would be secure.

The system was set up after the official inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie concluded the eight-year-old's murder could have been prevented if there had been better communication between the professionals involved.

'Illegitimate purposes'

However, The Times said the ADCS had written to Christine Goodfellow, who is in charge of Contact Point, expressing concerns about the policing and vetting arrangements.

Richard Stiff, the chairman of the ADCS information systems and technology policy committee, said it "may allow a situation where an abuser could be able to access Contact Point for illegitimate purposes with limited fear of any repercussions".

Around 330,000 approved users, including head teachers, doctors and social workers, will have access to the database, The Times said.

Security concerns were heightened by the disclosure that the details of the children of politicians and celebrities were expected to be excluded, the newspaper added.

However, the Department for Children, Schools and Families insisted the new system would be secure.

"Contact Point will be the quick way for authorised users of the system to find out who else is working with the same child or young person," a spokesman said.

"It will save them valuable time - time many say they currently spend looking for just this information, which they can use instead to provide better care.

"It will hold no case data and access will be restricted to people who need it to do their job."

He added that users would receive training and must be "enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checked".