Ed Balls orders ContactPoint probe following child benefit debacle

Children’s secretary Ed Balls has ordered an independent review into the security surrounding ContactPoint, the database of all 11 million children in England, following the child benefit records security lapse.

Concerns were raised about ContactPoint, which is due to go live next year and will be accessible to 330,000 children’s services professionals, following last week’s news that compact discs containing child benefit records covering 25 million people were lost in the government’s internal post.

A Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesperson said Balls ordered the ContactPoint review immediately after last week’s announcement, “given the obvious importance of ensuring that ContactPoint has extremely robust security measures in place”.

He added that the department would announce who would head the ContactPoint review shortly.

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