Police will be able to apply for access to Contact Point, an online directory designed to improve the co-ordination of support and services for children, the government has confirmed.

Contact Point could be used to provide police with archived data for crime prevention or prosecution purposes.

The online directory, which will be launched this autumn, is one of three key IT systems introduced as part of the government's Every Child Matters agenda. It will help to co-ordinate support by showing staff who else is working with a particular child.

It will not include assessment or case information, but will hold basic information on a child, as well as contact details of parents and care workers. It will also record whether a child has had contact with a youth offending team or services such as drug rehabilitation.