Child database delayed by HMRC breach

A database of all UK children has been put on hold following last week's massive security breach at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the minister for children has told parliament.

Kevin Brennan, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, told MPs yesterday that the £224 million ContactPoint database will be delayed five months as "the loss of large volumes of child benefit data from HMRC has raised questions about the safety of large scale personal data in other Government systems."

The ContactPoint database was created after the Victoria Climbie inquiry, in order to bring together information about children.

It will hold the name, address, birthdate, gender and contact details of parents for each child, as well as details about their doctor and school. It will not hold financial data or any case information, Brennan stressed.

Brennan said: "In light of the security breach at the HMRC, we are continuing to check our procedures to ensure standards are as high as they can be. To this end, on 20 November, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families decided to commission an independent assessment of its security procedures."

The system will now be audited by Deloitte to ensure stringent security. It is now set to launch in September or October of next year.

The HMRC breach wasn't the only reason for the delay, Brennan said. "Delaying the implementation of ContactPoint will enable the independent assessment of security procedures to take place as well as address the changes to ContactPoint that potential system users have told us they need," he said in his statement.

ContactPoint is expected to cost £224 million to build and will be maintained by Capgemini on a seven-year contract worth £40 million annually.

Others have also called on the government to re-examine plans to introduce a national identity card following the security failure at HMRC.