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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what data the Integrated Children's System will hold; and who will have access to it. [195335] Margaret Hodge: The IT system, to support the use of Integrated Children's System (ICS), will enable councils with social services responsibilities to hold information electronically about children in need who are in receipt of their services. It will contain information gathered in the course of working with children and their families, which has been recorded by social services. These records have traditionally been paper-based but a growing number of councils have electronic record keeping systems in place. As part of implementing the ICS, social service records will all be kept electronically, replacing paper-based systems. The legislation on access to personal information held by social services departments is the same for paper- based and electronically kept case records. The Access to Personal Files Act 1987 gave people the general right to see social work records which related to them produced after 1987. The Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998, which came into force on 1 March 2000, enhances these rights and abolishes the time limit. Any living person, who is the subject of personal information held and processed by a social services authority, has the right of access to those records. The right of access only extends to the person who is the subject of those records, or someone acting on their behalf. A person does not have the right to know what is recorded about someone else, even someone who is a member of the same family, without that person's consent. Requests from parents to see records relating to a child can be dealt with under these arrangements only where they are acting in the interests of a child who is unable to act for himself, rather than on their own behalf. The right of access extends to children and young people under 18 who understand what it means to exercise that right. If they do not have sufficient understanding to make the request, a person with parental responsibility can make the request on their behalf. Local authorities have a general duty in common law to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information, which they hold in connection with their social services functions. However, there are circumstances in which personal information can be disclosed. For example, an authority may disclose information to social services staff directly involved in a case, or to anyone who cares for one of their clients, such as a voluntary body or foster carers. An authority will also need to disclose personal information to various bodies with the power to order disclosure, when ordered to do so, such as the police, the courts and statutory inquiries.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

195335; 426 c2132-3W;426 c2138-9W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Access Children Data protection Databases Information Social services

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk