The government’s central children’s database will be operational by the end of 2008, as part of plans to improve welfare protection of young people.

The database is intended to allow officials to respond more effectively to potential abuse of children by establishing a central register accessible to all concerned agencies and organisations.

The plan was first proposed following the public inquiry into the Victoria Climbié case, and was included in the Children’s Bill passed in November 2004.

The government gave it the go-ahead last July, and last week published details of the scheme, including plans for only basic information to be held on the system, how the security will work, and the organisational implications.

The implementation is expected to cost £224m over the next three years, with annual running costs of £41m. Development and testing, including checking accuracy of existing data sources, begins next year.