ContactPoint will cost more than thought
Gov project in budget creep shock
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The government has revealed that the ContactPoint children's directory will cost just under £44m a year to run, £3m more than previously stated.
Children's minister Beverly Hughes provided the figures in a parliamentary written answer on 9 March 2009. "Most will go directly to local authorities to fund staff to ensure the ongoing running, maintenance, operation and security of ContactPoint," she wrote in answer to a question from Conservative shadow justice minister Eleanor Laing.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families said the previous estimate of £41m was given in 2005, and the increase is due to inflation. The cost of establishing the system, which will contain details on all all children in England, remains at £224m.
In reply to a separate question from Shailesh Vara, the Conservative deputy shadow leader of Parliament, Hughes said that the department has sought the views of young people, parents and carers in developing ContactPoint.
"This work has shown that, in general, children and young people understand the benefits of ContactPoint," she wrote. "Understandably, they want reassurance that the system will be secure and accurate; that practitioners will use their information appropriately and respect their privacy, and that access to ContactPoint will be limited to those who need it to do their job."
She added that the department will distribute material to inform young people, parents and carers to inform them about the system, which will "take into account Fair Processing Notice obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998," through a variety of channels, including direct mail to households where practical.
This article was originally published at Kablenet.
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COMMENTS
@Hollerith
If the government figure of 390 000 people with access to this is correct its about £113 ea per yr.
They could not have possibly fallen for the old "This system is so simple to use you won't need to train them" rubbish and failed to budget for training time?
Again.
Or
1100 staff @ £40k / year. Presumably setting up user ID's, data entry and admin will be de-centralised. Every major council, NHS trust and education authority will need someone.
A simplistic architecture that did not realise how many sites would be dealt with, and how much support they would need (in the early stages at least) on site could grow staff numbers pretty fast. IMHO.
Hmmmm.
Outsourced hell desk service contract anyone? Isn't that one of Cap Gemini's stocks-in-trade?
The cheapest way is still to ditch it.
Pop goes the weasel
> "This work has shown that, in general, children and young people understand the benefits of ContactPoint," she [Hughes] wrote. "Understandably, they want reassurance that the system will be secure and accurate; that practitioners will use their information appropriately and respect their privacy, and that access to ContactPoint will be limited to those who need it to do their job."
As if respecting their privacy, and limiting access on a need to know basis, were paramount to children. Children assume, in their earlier years, their parents know everything - and that's why they always manage to pick up the pieces.
What a weasel remark to say "they want reassurance that the system will be secure and accurate". The minister does not say whether children have been informed of the risks - presumably they haven't (since MiniLuv always tells the truth, and MiniTrue practises love).
Logic says the more accurate the data, the less secure the children.
"...children and young people..."
"...children and young people understand the benefits..."
Unfortunately, it's proving more difficult to convince anyone else.
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