Written question asked by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Monday, 10 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 November 2003. It was answered by Baroness Hodge of Barking (Labour) on Thursday, 20 November 2003 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the timetable is for the introduction of computer systems to (a) monitor the activities of child protection agencies and (b) cross-reference knowledge held by other agencies through social services departments.

Answer: Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the timetable is for the introduction of computer systems to (a) monitor the activities of child protection agencies and (b) cross- reference knowledge held by other agencies through social services departments. [138485] Margaret Hodge: In the Government's Green Paper "Every Child Matters" we set out our aim to share information across services and ensure professionals know of each others concerns at an early stage. To achieve this, we are proposing a local information hub in every local authority to enable professionals in all the local services which impact on children's lives to cross- reference knowledge, where appropriate, with other local children's services. In light of responses to the Green Paper "Every Child Matters" the Government will examine the potential benefits and risks of introducing ICT-based information sharing systems and whether it is feasible to overcome the considerable technical barriers. We will be evaluating the work of the Trailblazers in due course and will use their experiences to inform future developments.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 138485; 413 c1463W;413 c1459W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Children Disclosure of information Databases Cooperation ICT Protection Monitoring Social services
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk