Coalition spends £3.75m on ContactPoint

Conservative education minister Tim Loughton said that because ContactPoint "remains in limited operation", the Department for Education paid £3.75m to cover the costs of operating the database from April to June 2010. "We are considering the extent of grant funding beyond this period, and more detailed plans on the way forward will be announced later in the summer," said Loughton in a parliamentary written answer to Labour MP Tom Watson, published on 12 July 2010. In May the coalition government announced plans to scrap the ContactPoint database, designed to hold information on all children under 18. A month later it was revealed that the government will temporarily maintain the controversial children's database, but scale back its use. Loughton also disclosed that the education department was looking at "a more proportionate approach to protecting children most in need". He reiterated that the new government is committed to scrapping ContactPoint, even though a date for its abolition has not yet been set. "Both coalition partners' manifestos included a clear commitment to scrap ContactPoint, to fulfil a longstanding policy commitment, discussed with a wide range of interested organisations in recent years," Loughton added.