ContactPoint, the new “contacts list” being set up by the Department for Children, Schools and Families is due to go live across England in October 2009. It is already in use in the North West of England and is proving controversial amongst parents, teachers and many NGOs and charities working in the education sector. Many view the database as a disproportionate and unnecessary intrusion into the privacy of children which is unlikely to help prevent child abuse, the purpose for which it is being set up. Some fear that it may make the situation worse, by deterring people from "accessing services because they may well have their anxieties heightened at the idea that their details are to be recorded on a universal database” (British Association for Adoption and Fostering). The new database will hold information on all children in England up until their 18th birthday. This information will then be retained for a further six years in archive.

The information on ContactPoint will include:

• The name, address, gender and date of birth for a child along with a unique identifying number
• The name and contact details for a child's parent(s) or carer(s)
• The contact details for services working with a child: as a minimum, their educational setting (e.g. school) and GP practice
• The contact details for other service providers who come into contact with a child, for example a health visitor or social worker; and whether a practitioner is a lead professional and if they have undertaken an assessment under the Common Assessment Framework. Those providing a sensitive service (defined as those in the fields of sexual health, mental health and substance abuse) will be required to seek consent from the child (or their parent/carer where appropriate) before recording their contact details on the database.
  

Parents and/or children can apply to have their details “shielded” on the ContactPoint database. A shielded record will only show the child’s name, date or birth, gender and unique ID number; no other information will be visible. However, the government has stated that there are only limited circumstances in which shielding is appropriate, for example, if a record would be likely to place a child at increased risk of significant harm, place an adult at increased risk of significant harm or prejudice the prevent or detection of a serious crime. This list is not exhaustive and requests for “shielding” should be sent to your local authority.

Leigh Day is currently advising educational groups regarding the legality of the ContactPoint database and investigating potential individual and group challenges to the principle of a universal register containing details of all children as well as challenges to amongst other things, local authority “shielding” decisions. If you would like further information about this or are unhappy with a decision that has been taken regarding your request for “shielding”, please contact Richard Stein or Rosa Curling on 020 7650 1200. Information about how you could fund a potential legal case can be found here.