17.07.14
Data laws confusing councils on sharing birth data
Almost half of local authorities in England fail to routinely inform children’s centres about new births in their area, a new report by the Children’s Society has found.
Despite this being a breach of government guidance, the Society’s ‘The Right Start’ study, based on FoI request responses from 147 councils, revealed that around 60% of councils say they are unable to obtain the information from local health services.
However, this failure is making it harder for children’s centres – which need the birth data so they can contact new families at the earliest opportunity to ensure they are receiving the support they need – to do their jobs.
Additionally, through the FoI, the Society said that it was clear that many local authorities considered the sharing of live birth data to their children’s centres a breach of data protection requirements.
The Children’s Society is now calling on the government to make it a clear ‘legal duty’ for local authorities and health services to share live birth data with children’s centres to ensure families know about and can access the vital services available.
Val Floy, chief operating officer at The Children's Society, said: “The first years in a child’s life are critical in supporting school readiness, learning and development and family relationships, and we know early education and support is particularly important for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“By withholding vital data about new births, councils and health services are preventing children’s centres from fulfilling their core purpose to support children in their early years. The authorities should do the right thing and give children’s centres the information they need to do their job.”
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