The Government said one of the purposes of the exercise was to 'seek views on the weight that should be given to the public interest in protecting children from abuse or neglect'.
It acknowledged that 'practitioners are often uncertain about when and how they can or should share information'. It added, 'The consequences can be that important information which should be shared is not, or, in some cases, that information may be shared inappropriately.'
The key principles of information sharing include the safety and welfare of a child as the primary consideration and the need for a legal basis and legitimate purpose for doing it, the document said.
But the NSPCC said that while there was a consensus on the need to help vulnerable children and families, it believed the Government had 'yet to make the case that its Information Sharing and Assessment (ISA) initiative is the best way of doing this'.
Head of policy and public affairs Natalie Cronin said, 'There is little real evidence that keeping information on all children in this way will significantly improve their safety and welfare. In fact databases might have the opposite effect, for example, if children and young people become reluctant to seek help or advice because they fear their confidentiality will not be respected. The desire to obtain more information could result in less being available.'
The proposed guidance also suggests that health professionals who have a reasonable suspicion that a child is being abused or neglected should adopt a two-tier approach, initially contacting other relevant professionals 'without disclosing the substance of any concerns', only doing so if they become certain of abuse.
Making the case for information sharing, the Government said it was 'increasingly recognised in practice that a failure to share information, even at a level of a "niggling worry", may have serious consequences for the welfare of a child or young person'.
Cross Government Guidance: Sharing information on children and young people is available at www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations.
The deadline for responses is 15 November 2005.
