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THE DATABASE While the proposals for the Database grew out of concern for children at risk of Child Abuse or neglect, reinforced by the death of Victoria Climbié , all 11 million children in the UK are to be registered on the Database . The data entries for each child are to consist of {Link without Title} : :- name, address, gender and date of birth; :- a unique identifying number; :- the name and contact details of any person with parental responsibility or who has care of him at any time; :- details of any education being received by him, including details of any educational institution attended; :- the name and contact details of any person providing primary medical and other services specified by the Secretary of State; :- information as to the existence of any cause for concern in relation to him; :- other information, not including medical records or other personal records, specified by the Secretary of State. Margaret Hodge , Minister of State for Children, has also stated that drug or alcohol use by parents, relatives and neighbours, together with other aspects of their behaviour, may be recorded {Link without Title} . CONCERNS The Government's proposals have been subject to criticism and concern from a variety of sources. Action On Rights For Children claims that the proposals run contrary to a child's right to privacy contained in the United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child , while Parliament’s Joint Committee On Human Rights has stated that the "serious interference" with the rights under Article 8 of the European Convention On Human Rights (the right to respect for private life) seems to be difficult to justify {Link without Title} . Drawing a parallel with the way that governments in Eastern Europe and Spain gained too much power and information in the 20th Century , the Government's own Information Commissioner has expressed concern over this and a number of other national databases (including the Citizen Information Project , NHS National Programme For IT , and National Identity Cards ), warning that there was a danger of the country sleepwalking into a '' Surveillance Society '' {Link without Title} . Others have claimed that the database is also a covert method of gathering entries for the National Identity Register . Partly due to her backing of the Child Database, Privacy International awarded Margaret Hodge the 2004 '' Big Brother Award '' for "Worst Public Servant". SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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