Police official criticises plans for children’s database

A senior policeman has criticised plans to create a
children’s database that can be used by all agencies as a
“mythical” concept, writes Sally
Gillen.

Terence Grange, lead on child protection at the Association of
Chief Police Officers, told MPs that the database for social
services, education and health professionals to use was too
ambitious.

Giving evidence to the Department for Education and Skills
committee, which is looking at Every Child Matters, Grange said the
police were still trying to secure a national child protection IT
system from the Home Office, which would take two years to develop
and cost £10 million.

He added that the database plans, set out within the Children
Act, were “complicated” and needed to be “thought
through”.

Chair of the Association of Directors of Social Services
children and families committee John Coughlan warned that if the
database was used a quasi child protection register it would be a
“disaster”.

Earlier, chief executive of the NHS confederation, Gill Morgan,
said primary care trusts would need to offer incentives to GPs to
ensure they prioritised children.

GPs, alongside teachers, are among the groups of professionals
who are exempt from the new duties to cooperate with others and
safeguard children under the act.