Nursery World - Tough challenge

Barnardo's welcomes Sir Michael Bichard's report into the circumstances around the recruitment of child murderer Ian Huntley (News, 15 January). A particular challenge here will be the need to demonstrate the wisdom of Solomon in balancing an individual's right to privacy, as defined by the Data Protection Act, with the public's equal right to protection. This will be an increasingly important issue in relation to the Green Paper, Every Child Matters, with its determination to establish a shared database of information about children and young people, available to many agencies.

A particular challenge here will be the need to demonstrate the wisdom of Solomon in balancing an individual's right to privacy, as defined by the Data Protection Act, with the public's equal right to protection. This will be an increasingly important issue in relation to the Green Paper, Every Child Matters, with its determination to establish a shared database of information about children and young people, available to many agencies.

We also hope Sir Michael will seize the opportunity to look at the Criminal Records Bureau, and the way it has performed in tracking past criminal records. With a brief and unsatisfactory history of long delays and a recent hike in the charges it makes to voluntary organisations, the CRB is as urgently in need of examination as the way the data it provides is used.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included