Written question asked by Lord Austin of Dudley (Labour) on Thursday, 8 July 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 12 July 2010. It was answered by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 July 2010 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Children: Databases

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received from local authorities in the West Midlands on the decision to end the ContactPoint database.

Answer: We have confirmed with local authorities and other partners our firm intention to end the ContactPoint database as soon as is practicable. Both coalition partners' manifestos included a clear commitment to scrap ContactPoint, to fulfil a longstanding policy commitment, discussed with a wide range of interested organisations in recent years. We have consistently opposed a database, which contains details about all children in England, accessed by hundreds of thousands of people and we signalled our opposition in debates on the original legislation in the 2004 Children Act.The Department for Education has received no representations from local authorities in the west midlands on this decision. We will continue to engage with and draw on the views with a wide range of organisations as we consider the scope for a more proportionate approach to protecting children most in need.

Secondary information