July 26, 2010 - ContactPoint to be shut down from August 6th

Tim Loughton MP, Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Children and Families, has today made a written ministerial statement informing Parliament that ContactPoint will be shut down on 6 August 2010.

The Department has written today to directors of children's services and chief executives of ContactPoint national partners. The letter sets out the timetable for shut down and decommissioning, provides guidance for local authorities, National Partners and other partners on the activities they need to undertake, and confirms funding and other support available during this period.

The Government continues to consider the feasibility of a new signposting service for professionals to help them to support and protect our most vulnerable children, particularly when these children move areas or access services in more than one area.

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ContactPoint was a national database which was used to keep information in one place for vulnerable children. This has not been straight forward and there have been concerns about confidentiality and what information would be made available and to whom.