I just thought some of you childcarers my be interested in this. Our local FIS have blamed everything on DCSF and made out they didn't know about the planned system changes but if you read below, you'll see just how long they HAVE known about it!!! .....
The Department?s public communications unit has forwarded your email.
We were very concerned to hear about the difficulties you have experienced in getting your information displayed on Directgov. We have investigated this issue as a matter of urgency.
I am also sorry to say that you have been misinformed about the contact and resolution process for the issues you highlight. The Family Information Directory simply publishes the information it receives from local authorities, in this case X, and is therefore reliant on accurate information being uploaded to the system.
Your information has been reviewed by the Directory?s technical team and those at Directgov. A technical error in the details uploaded by X was discovered which prevented your details appearing in the searches you describe. In this instance the problem was caused by the local system not properly encoding the ?£? sign ahead of your hourly rate at the point of upload from the LA.
I do want to emphasise that these types of technical problems are primarily caused by the way the information is uploaded and therefore can only be resolved by the local authority in discussions with their technical supplier.
However, in this instance, we have been able to correct the error and your details are now being published on Directgov and the other websites which show the Directory information. Your details are also returned when the ?childminders? box is ticked. We have not amended any of the details of your record but recoded the element causing the problem.
I am copying this email to X FIS so they are aware of the problem affecting your record in case it should reoccur in the future.
Regarding your complaint about not receiving sufficient warning of the changes to Directgov and Childcarelink, local authorities were informed of the planned changes in September 2008. This was supplemented by a series of emails and presentations to FIS teams and LAs over the course of the following year. In August 2009 an email was sent to LAs reminding them of the need to notify the childcare providers in their area about the changes planned.
Do please contact me directly if you have any further queries.