Database 'flaws' uncovered
- 00:01:53
- ITN
Database 'flaws' uncovered
A quarter of Government databases should be scrapped or redesigned because they are fundamentally flawed and probably illegal, a social justice think-tank said. Britain's "database state" puts children at risk and wastes billions of pounds a year, according to the report for the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. The landmark study of 46 major Government databases found 11 - including a planned index of all children in England - should be scrapped or overhauled as they were "almost certainly" illegal under human rights or data protection law. Significant problems were identified in a further 29 databases which were recommended for independent review, while only six won the green light as being necessary and legal. The privacy experts behind the report, commissioned after HM Revenue and Customs lost two discs containing a copy of the entire child benefit database in 2007, called for urgent "radical" change in the public-sector culture and for systems that put people first. But they warned that politicians and senior civil servants view the personal data issue as "career-threatening and toxic" and do not want to get involved. Co-author Professor Ross Anderson of Cambridge University said: "Britain's database state has become a financial, ethical and administrative disaster which is penalising some of the most vulnerable members of our society. "Too often, computerisation has been used as a substitute for public service reform rather than a means of enabling reform. Little thought is given to safety, privacy and value for money." Researchers looked at the 46 major public sector databases which hold personal information on everybody, or a significant minority, but said there are thousands in operation across government. Sharing data, they warned, could actually harm vulnerable people, including children, by leading to discrimination and stigmatisation.
ITN | March 23, 2009
