7 September 2005

The government has completed the pilot of a new database system that will hold the records of 85 million people.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is building its Customer Information System (CIS), to enable instant access to relevant information on the millions of people who receive state benefits and pensions, ComputerWeekly.com reports.

This information is currently stored separately, as well as only being partially accessible to civil servants working for the DWP, and this new database will therefore markedly increase the convenience and efficiency with which they perform their jobs.

The DWP announced in a statement: "The CIS will bring together core customer information onto one database.

"This involves building one of the largest high-performance databases in Europe and a large series of web services."

Councils will now be able to access the database to check the identities and addresses of people claiming benefits, replacing the sluggish and ineffective existing links between local authorities and the DWP.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs also plans to use it to trace offenders who have changed their address without notifying the courts.

© Adfero Ltd

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