Editing ContactPoint (section)

== Content ==
The entries for a child were to consist of:

* their name, address, gender and date of birth;
* a number identifying them;
* the name and contact details of any person with [[parental responsibility (access and custody)|parental responsibility]] for them (within the meaning of section 3 of the [[Children Act 1989]]) or who had care of them at any time;
* details of any education being received by them (including the name and contact details of any educational institution attended by them);
* the name and contact details of any person providing primary medical services in relation to them under Part 1 of the [[National Health Service Act 1977]];
* the name and contact details of any person providing to them services of such description as the [[Secretary of State for Health|Secretary of State]] may by regulations specify;

The database would not hold case or assessment material or any subjective observations. The database could include information of a sensitive nature, defined as issues relating to [[reproductive health|sexual health]], [[mental health]] and [[substance abuse]],<ref name="2007DR"/> although consent from the child or the child's guardians would have been needed, and it would not have appeared as such on the database; it would only note that the child was receiving help from "sensitive services" and would not say what this was. Refusal of consent could be overridden if this could be justified.<ref name="PG"/> [[Margaret Hodge]], then children's minister, had said that drug or alcohol use by parents, relatives and neighbours, together with other aspects of their behaviour, may be recorded.<ref>{{cite news |last=Batty |first=David |url=http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,1074,1271792,00.html |title=Hodge named 'worst public servant' |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 July 2004 |access-date=27 June 2007 }}</ref> Government guidelines reveal that other information recorded may have included family routines, evidence of a disorganised or chaotic lifestyle, ways in which the family's income was used, signs of mental illness or alcohol misuse by relatives, and any serious difficulties in the parents' relationship.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3690018.ece |title=Child database would ‘pry into family life’ |first=Daniel |last=Hughes |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080725130424/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3690018.ece |date=2008-04-06 |access-date=17 April 2008 |archive-date=2008-07-25 }}</ref>

In August 2006, the [[Department for Education and Skills (United Kingdom)|Department for Education and Skills]] (DfES) announced that the database would not include telephone numbers or addresses of celebrities' children.<ref name="celebrity">{{cite news |last=Batty |first=David |url=http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,,1862231,00.html |title=Child database attacked over celebrity exclusions |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=31 August 2006 |access-date=27 June 2007 }}</ref> Records of children who may be at risk could be shielded; this would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The [[technical specification]] for ContactPoint did not include the capacity to store [[biometric data]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070328/text/70328w0006.htm#07032882000715 |work=[[Hansard]] |title=Written Answers to Questions for 28 Mar 2007 : Column 1543W |publisher=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] |date=28 March 2007 |access-date=21 September 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070517214842/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070328/text/70328w0006.htm#07032882000715 |archive-date=17 May 2007 }}</ref>