400,000 to access children's data

Almost 400,000 people will have access to a controversial new database containing the details of every child in England, a minister has said.

ContactPoint, a £224 million directory, containing the name, address, date of birth, GP and school of all under 18s - as well as the name and contact details of any professional working with a child, is being rolled out.

Parents will not have the option of requesting that their child is removed from the list, Children's Minister Baroness Delyth Morgan said.

She said ContactPoint was a "universal" directory containing information pooled from sources already available to ensure no child "slips through the net".

In total around 390,000 people will have access to the database, Baroness Morgan said. This includes local authorities, Government agencies, the police, the NHS and some children's charities.

Children at risk of significant harm, such as victims of domestic abuse will be able to have details like their address "shielded" so they cannot be seen.

Officials said hundreds of children in each local authority could have their details shielded.

The ContactPoint database has been established in response to a key recommendation of the Laming Inquiry into the tragic death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in 2000.

The project has been subject to several delays due to concerns over data security and technical issues.

It has attracted controversy from the outset with civil liberties groups, children's campaigners and the Office of the Information Commissioner expressing concerns about its scope and role.