The index has been developed in response to recommendations made in the Laming report on the investigation into the death of Victoria Climbie.
The national index will cost 224m to set up and a further 41m a year to run. Piloting of the index will start in 2007 and it is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2008.
It will include basic identifying information (name, address, date of birth, unique identifying number), information about a child's carer, and contact details for services involved with the child, such as schools and GPs.
Children's minister Beverley Hughes said, 'The experiences of the Trailblazers projects have shown that practitioners are able to make better decisions and take quicker action when they have basic information about the child and contact details for other services working with the child.'
'All too often, children who need additional help are faced with services which are not joined up. We need to ensure that professionals work together across service boundaries for the benefit of children.'