Rob at the Broadsheet Rag saw this report in his local paper about TORY run Hertfordshire County Council's new Allegations Management System.

A ground-breaking computer system that stores and monitors allegations made against adults working with children has been created by Hertfordshire County Council.

The county's child protection unit and information systems team have pooled their knowledge and experience to design the Allegations Management System (AMS) to streamline the way information is collated and recorded.

Launched earlier this year, AMS is already attracting interest from other local authorities keen to replicate the system themselves.

So as soon as someone makes an allegation against you, you're on the system. No proof needed.

What happens if the allegations are investigated and you are cleared?  The online article doesn't say but, according to Rob, the printed version contained this little gem:

But allegations found to be false will stay on the system for ten years and are free to be read by future employers.

If you have a grudge against someone, all you need to do make up a child abuse story then drop a line to the council. Bingo! Your enemy is on the database for ten years.

And don't kid yourself that this system only covers Hertfordshire. Today's local authorities are as keen to make money as anyone else. Hertfordshire plans to flog the system to other councils around the country.

As the old saying goes, mud sticks. Now councils have a database to make sure that it sticks for at long as they want it to.

Lets be very clear about this. This database is simply about collecting hear-say and conjecture. Not facts — just whatever happens to be said about someone. That is 100% STASI.

Where is the legal base for such a database? Where are the controls? Appeals process?

Hertfordshire County Council is a TORY run council. Still believe that Tories have your best interest at heart, or that a Libertarian agenda is best served by Tories?