Panning from MPs results only in promise to 'go steady'
The Government is to press ahead with plans for a national network of 'child indexes' despite serious warnings from MPs.
However ministers are now pledging to take a "steady, phased approach" to the project after the Commons' Education and Skills Select Committee urged them to proceed only "with upmost caution".
Back in April MPs on the Parliamentary committee vigorously criticised the Government's proposals to set up an electronic file on every child in England. The move forms part of reforms to child welfare services.
Committee members were "not convinced" that there was sufficient evidence to justify commissioning the index systems, expressing "significant reservations" over whether the project was worthwhile.
In a response on 12 July to the Committee's report, the Government defended the project, stating that it believed that indexes "offer an important tool to make frontline services more effective."
The Government said it had made clear that the decision to proceed depended upon Ministers "being satisfied that a robust business case, analysing costs and benefits, has been made for the investment and that the necessary resources are available."
Addressing the Committee's "very significant concerns" about the security and privacy issues, the Government said it would ensure that the index solution was "technically robust", with security controls "subject to independent scrutiny and audit, both at the design stage and after implementation".
The MPs' other major criticism was that the Government had opted for indexes before fully analysing the findings from pilot schemes. The Government said this evidence would be fed into the project's business case.
According to the project's timetable, Ministers will announce in November whether the project will proceed to implementation, although as recently as last month, several of the pilots were not yet fully operational.
Related Links
Education and Skills Select Committee: Every Child Matters (PDF: 372KB)
The Government's Response to the Education and Skills Select Committee's Report (PDF: 634KB)
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