British child database 'will ruin family privacy'

Parents will be devalued and family privacy shattered by the mass surveillance of all 12 million children in England and Wales, says a report on Nov. 23 commissioned by Parliament's Information Commissioner. In what is likely to be a major embarrassment to Tony Blair, it says proposals for a $434 million database containing details of every child will waste millions of dollars, undermine parental authority and actually put children in more danger. The report comes amid government fanfare about "supporting" parents with parenting classes backed by a "super nanny" army of child psychologists. Blair defended the super nanny idea saying it was right to give families a "helping hand." "No one's talking about interfering with normal family life," he added. But experts in child protection, law and computers who have written the report express astonishment that a government which emphasizes the importance of good parenting also plans to devalue the status of the mother and father with a "Big Brother" surveillance system which violates the law and is not secure. Such a system may also hold inaccurate information, tarnishing families or children unfairly. "Families' privacy and autonomy is being shattered as the Government puts them all under surveillance," they say. "Government policy proposes treating all parents as if they cannot be trusted to bring up their children." Doctors, schools and the police will have to alert the database to a wide range of "concerns." Two warning flags on a child's record could trigger an investigation. One of the report's authors, Dr. Eileen Munro, of the London School of Economics, said: "The Government is extending the surveillance needed for child protection concerns to all concerns about a child's health and development. It reduces parental authority and risks damaging their willingness to seek or accept help." The index, which is due to be operational within two years, will record health and other developmental information about all children. The index will carry details of everything from vaccinations to whether a child is eating enough fruit and vegetables, or is struggling in the classroom. But today's report says the compulsory collation of such a plethora of information violates British and EU data protection and human rights law. The IT systems are also not secure, and 400,000 civil and public servants will have access to the information, so ministers cannot not possibly claim the gigantic database will be totally confidential, it adds. Experts point out that collecting such a vast amount of information will make it harder to spot those in genuine danger. "When you are looking for a needle in a haystack, is it necessary to keep building bigger haystacks?" asked one. "The new IT based strategy will divert resources and attention away from these children, potentially posing more dangers." The report adds, "The main focus is on spotting the babies and children who may become a 'menace' or a cost to society in later life by, for example, having babies in their teens, under-achieving at school, or being delinquent. "(But) this raises the issue that labeling can become a self-fulfilling prophecy as all adults treat the child with suspicion. If this 'screening' of children did happen, would there be a place for parental responsibility?"