The government has told councils it will not directly
invest in local child protection IT systems ahead of work taking
place at national level to build an information sharing
index.
The Department for Education and Skills said it hopes to complete a
business case for a national system by autumn 2005.
The DfES said any IT systems councils introduce to address urgent
needs to improve information sharing about children at risk will
not meet future statutory requirements.
A DfES policy announcement, entitled "Key messages for local
authorities on information sharing indexes in children's services",
said, "The department is leading the project to develop a national
network of children's databases, or index systemsÉ
"Work is still at the early design and planning stage. The
preferred approach is for a network of 150 local indexes, managed
at upper-tier local authority level, plus further co-ordinating
systems.
"The DfES recognises that local authorities may already have
pursued, or wish to pursue, IT products to facilitate local
information sharing. Local authorities should be aware that no
available system currently meets all the requirements of an IS
index.
"Therefore, any investments made now must be regarded as an interim
measure. The DfES will not provide any specific funding to support
interim IT systems."