So, the Government plans to improve child welfare by giving each and every child a number. Well, for the civil libertarians amongst you, I reckon this is a back door route to universal ID cards – start ’em young, and they won’t worry when they still have the same number after 18.
I’m also not convinced that giving kids a number will help. That just strikes me as a spot of window-dressing. Getting agencies to work together is more likely to help, but with the huge differences in culture, the little ivory towers and private empires and the sheer behemothic nature of the state that has mushroomed in the last few years, I have little optimism that we will not see more stories in the news of poor children like Victoria Climbié.
separating the wanted from the unwanted