National register of children is possible

A national database of all children
should not be beyond the realms of technical possibility given that the vehicle
licensing authority is able to track the whereabouts of any car almost
instantaneously, retired accident and emergency consultant Dr Howard Baderman
told child protection colleagues last week.

“Any car in this country which
changes hands and moves about the country and so on and so forth, the vehicle
licensing authority can find it within minutes, and its background,” Baderman
said. “There are 11 million children compared with 20 million cars.”

Baderman proposed a national
database with different levels, ranging from basic identification details, to
records of contact with agencies, to information about real concern or
incidents involving harm.

Access to information beyond basic
details would be on a “need to know basis”.