The new Government has announced plans to scrap the controversial Contact Point database.
Measures outlined in the Conservatives' and Liberal Democrats' coalition agreement last week aim to 'reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties under the Labour Government and roll back state intrusion'. Both parties had pledged to end Contact Point when it was introduced last year for fear of sensitive information being mislaid or lost (News, 24 September). Other plans would outlaw the fingerprinting of children at school without parents' permission.